Enrollment Information

This page is intended to inform staff and faculty how wait lists work, what to look for when they don't, and what permission numbers can be used to override and what they cannot be used to override.  For more information, please visit the Faculty and Staff Resources page.

Helpful Information

• Students are directed to contact their instructor for a permission number both by email and in-person, as needed, for closed/waitlisted classes first week, and all classes at the start of the second week.
• To change the classroom assigned to your class(es): ask your department staff to see if a room is currently available (in 25Live) and have them submit a Room Change Request. Visit the College Colleagues List page for a list of department staff (and chairs).
• The Final Exam Information webpage has information on finals week and where faculty can see final exams.
• Faculty should track attendance in the first weeks of the semester and utilize Administrative Drop when appropropriate, see more information on that option below.

Prereq Waivers & Enrollment Issues

Some changes have been made to the traditional prerequisite waiver process. See the Prerequisite Waivers & Enrollment Issues webpage for more information.

Enrollment Timeline

• Before Classes Begin:
  • The wait lists will run once per day, most often in the early morning. Eligible waitlisted students will be moved into open seats. See the Wait List section below for more information. 
• First Week of Classes:
  • Wait lists do NOT run once classes begin
    • Once classes start, students will no longer be automatically enrolled from the wait list (not in open nor closed classes).
    • Wait-listed students and those looking to enroll in a closed class will require a permission number to enroll.
    • On the student Waitlist FAQ site, under “Obstacles to Automatic Enrollment”, there is a list of reasons why student would not have been eligible for auto-enrollment from the wait list (note: being on the wait list, does not always indicate a student is eligible to take the class).
  • Both regular and open-enrollment students can enroll themselves in any OPEN class without a permission number.
  • All students, including those on the wait list, will need a permission number to enroll in CLOSED classes.
  • How to tell if class is OPEN or CLOSED
    • When students fill the class up to the cap, the class will change to CLOSED. However, if an enrolled student drops the class, a seat will open up (if the enrollment is less than the cap and there are no eligible students on the wait list) and the course will change back to OPEN. If the class changes to OPEN, students will be able to enroll directly from their Student Center again.
    • It is recommended to hold off on distributing permission numbers until the second week, as faculty are expected to honor first-week enrollments. 
• Second Week of Classes:
  • Students will need permission numbers to enroll in any/all courses.
  • It is recommended to hold off on distributing permission numbers until the second week, as faculty are expected to honor first-week enrollments. 
  • All faculty should track attendance in the first weeks of the semester and follow the instructions for Administrative Drop to remove students who do not follow attendance requirements. The usage of Administrative Drop can prevent a number of issues for students down the line. See the Administrative Drop section below for more information. 

Wait Lists

Wait lists are put on class sections when the class is built in PeopleSoft. They can be added or removed at any time with the approval of the department.

Wait lists should always be built with "Auto-Enroll from Wait List" turned on. This feature allows students from the wait list to be pushed into the class when a seat opens up - please be aware the process to push wait listed students into open seats is usually run once per day. If the "Auto Enroll" option is not turned on, when a seat opens up in the class, any student can enroll in it directly, even if there are students on the wait list.

Eligible students on the wait list with "Auto Enroll" turned on, makes the section show as CLOSED in the schedule. However, if the wait list process is run to move students in and there are only non-eligible students on the wait list, those students will NOT be enrolled in the course, they will stay on the wait list. When this happens, if the section now has open seats, the section will show as OPEN even though students are on the wait list. How to tell if class is OPEN or CLOSED

For more on Wait Lists, please visit the Waitlist FAQ

Permission Numbers

Permission numbers are only generated for consent required classes the day before continuing student registration begins.

When classes begin to fill, permission numbers are generated for no-consent required courses, equal to the number of classroom seats minus the class cap.

During the first week of classes students do not need a permission number to enroll in OPEN classes. How to tell if class is OPEN or CLOSED

After the first week of classes, permission numbers are generated equal to the number of classroom seats minus the enrollment of the class.

Permission numbers may be requested via the Permission Number Request form. However, permission numbers will NOT be generated by request unless there is space in the classroom assigned, which means students must have dropped the course or be administratively dropped (See Administrative Drop webpage). Faculty may submit a room change request if a larger classroom is needed, this should be done prior to submitting this permission number request form.

Administrative Drop 

Faculty should track attendance in the first weeks of the semester and follow the instructions on the Administrative Drop webpage to remove students who do not follow attendance requirements during the add/drop period. Administrative Drop should not be used to drop student who have enrolled in an open class during the first week of the semester.

Departments seeking to restrict enrollment during the first week of classes should contact Academic Scheduling (acdsched@csusm.edu).