Pre-Enrollment Info for Staff

What is Pre-Enrollment?

Pre-enrollment at CSUSM is the process of administratively enrolling students in classes (i.e., the student is enrolled by the university). Students in various populations, for different reasons, are selected for pre-enrollment. Below is a summary of how it works for new students each fall.  

Student Populations & Process

Prior to the start of enrollment dates for new students, those meeting specific criteria are enrolled into required classes. This process is done in collaboration between EMS and Academic Scheduling, First Year and University Programs, and other offices. 

Student Populations

• First Year and University Programs

  First year students in specific majors and specialized groups are identified and enrolled in specialized sections of UNIV 101B (or UNIV 101C), and paired major classes for Learning Communities

  Drop Consent: several classes enrolled by First Year and University Program (FYUP) require consent to drop the class. Students should contact [FILL IN THE BLANK]

• Block Pre-Enrollment (MATH & GEW)

  Based on Degree Planner data, Academic Scheduling identifies first year students placed in Category 3 or Category 4 for Composition/Written Communication and/or Mathematics to be pre-enrolled in MATH and GEW classes. Specifically:

  • Category 3 or 4 in Writing recommends GEW 101A in the Fall (all majors)
  • Category 3 or 4 in Math recommends MATH 103, MATH 105 in the fall, depending on the major 

  Note: a pilot for the new GEW 102C class will pre-enroll Category 3 students in this class, rather than GEW 101A.

• SWIFT Program
  Students entering the SWIFT acclerated programs (Public Health and Human Development) are identified for co-hort pre-enrollment in major and GE courses. 
• Business Transfers
  Upper division transfers in the Business Administration major (all options) are pre-enrolled in BUS 300.

Enrollment Process

• EMS Enrolls
  All lists (except those enrolled by FYUP) are sent to EMS for batch enrollment prior to the beginning of new student enrollment dates.
• Students Notified
  All students will receive a notification indicating that they have been pre-enrolled in a key General Education course in the fall semester and are encouraged to remain enrolled. They will also be asked to acknowledge that they plan to attend these pre-enrolled classes in MyCSUSM or add classes to their schedule before August 7, or pre-enrolled classes will be dropped.
• Added to Student Group
  All students successfully pre-enrolled in one or more classes are added to the PREN student group for tracking. 
• Pop-Up Message for Students

  All pre-enrolled students will receive a pop-up message with the following message. When they acknowledge this message (or self-enroll in additional classes) they will be inactivated from the student group.

  You have been pre-enrolled in classes! Please confirm you plan to attend CSUSM in the fall by clicking below. If you do not complete this acknowledgement or self-enroll in additional classes by August 7, your pre-enrolled classes will be dropped.

  [I plan to attend]                                                                             [I do not plan to attend]

Why Might a Student Not be Pre-Enrolled?

• Holds: students who have not completed the Student Financial Responsibility agreement in MyCSUSM will not be pre-enrolled
• Math or Writing not recommended in Fall (Undeclared and Criminology and Justice Studies)
• Late matriculants may not be pre-enrolled due to the timing of their acceptance

Fall 2026 Timeline