Understanding waitlists
- Denise Kidd
About waitlists
The way waitlists function in Tulane’s schedule of classes first involves a section completely filling to its enrollment cap (example: CHEM 1070 is capped at 70 students with the waitlist option and 70 students register for the course; there are no more available seats in this section).
Once the section is full, students who wish to register for the class will add themselves to the waitlist.
You can tell the waitlist is active on a particular section by checking the section in the schedule of classes, or looking in banner (SSASECT) on the second tab (“Section Enrollment Information”). If the second tab of SSASECT displays 999 as the ‘waitlist maximum’ then the waitlist is open and available for that course. If the second tab of SSASECT displays 0 as the “waitlist maximum”, then the waitlist is not an option for this section.
Students waitlist for a class the same way they submit their registration (through the Schedule of Classes), but by changing the status to ‘waitlist’ instead of ‘register’ on the “Register (Add/Drop)” tab.
When a seat becomes available in a class while students are on the waitlist, the first person on the waitlist will receive an email notice that they have 48 hours exactly to go and self-register for the course.
Tulane, and Registrar’s office, do not automatically enroll waitlisted students who get a notification of an available seat.
The students MUST self-register within the 48-hour window, or they will be automatically dropped from the waitlist.
The waitlist notification for all students will always be sent to the student’s Tulane email address.
While this student is within their 48hr window to register for the open seat, the schedule of classes will display 1 available seat in the course (the seat for the student on the waitlist). This sometimes leads to confusion with other students who are interested in the course, as they see an available seat, but get a specific error message. (See above, Section 3 “What kinds of questions/calls/tickets will we get about registration?”, letter J.).
Waitlist errors
Too many waitlists
A student can’t waitlist for more than 3 classes (and none can be the same subject/course number as any other waitlisted course OR registered course).
Duplicate section
A student can’t waitlist OR register for more than one subject/course number; exceptions include Independent Studies, which are emailed to us by the department.
CAN’T self-register for both: REGR 1000-01 and REGR 1000-02
CAN self-register for both: REGR 1000-01 and REGR 1001-01
Closed section
o Has waitlist been zeroed out? Check with Class Scheduling team, who may know the reason (may be waiting on a change, etc.)
o Is waitlist set to “infinity” (999)?
Closed or dropped waitlist
o About a week before classes begin, waitlists will be closed to further enrollees (and overrides will not work to add them).
o At the end of the first week of classes, waitlists will be dropped of all students. Any open seat after that goes to the first eligible student to register.
Internal notes
Occasionally, the waitlist job needs a refresh by Scott Zitzmann or another Technology Services member. Things to check for:
Are auto-email notices being sent? (Check SFIWLNT)
Check waitlist@wave.tulane.edu
Is the waitlist notice set to 48 hours? (Should be visible in SFIWNLT; if not 48 hours, ask Meredith/Michael to fix)
The sooner a student contacts us, the more likely we are to be able to help them:
BEST: if they contact us (or attempt to, via email, voicemail, or other time-stamped communication) within their 48 hours – we are most likely to resolve (even if the error is theirs)
OKAY: If they don’t contact us until 30 minutes before expiration but they have to run to class or get on a plane and expect us to solve it by then.
SORRY: They don’t attempt to contact us until after expiration (EVEN if their 48 hours fell outside office hours), even if we see in SFASTCA that they attempted registration (but especially if they didn’t).
Note: If they planned to be abroad while they were waitlisted, we still may not be able to assist them if they missed a window because they didn’t have internet. Again, they planned to travel and should have “made arrangements” in case a seat opened, is what we’re allowed to say (or they could have sent their planner to Colette.)
Banner screens related to waitlists
SFIWLNT - waitlist notifications | Waitlist notification screen, see when the student got their email notice to register for a particular class. |
|---|---|
SFAWLPR - waitlist position | Waitlist management screen, see what position the student is on the waitlist. |
SFAXWLP - waitlist position for cross-lists | Crosslist waitlist management screen, Crosslist courses have a different set of screens to manage the waitlist. Here you can check the waitlist order for a crosslist. Must know the cross-list code, which is found on SSASECT. |
SSAXLST - cross-list enrollment caps | Crosslist screen, through this screen you can see which sections are set up in a crosslist and what the combined enrollment cap be. The combined enrollment cap for the crosslist needs to AT LEAST equal to the sum of the enrollment cap for each individual section in crosslist. Must know the cross-list code, which is found on SSASECT. |
FAQs
What are the chances of enrolling in a class if I am waitlisted or if the class is closed?
We strive to give students an opportunity to register for a variety of courses. Unfortunately, the Registrar’s Office cannot predict if/when a course may have more seats added or if a waitlist will be expanded. Also, we cannot guarantee students will be able to enroll in specific courses. Our best advice is to continue monitoring the courses you are interested in taking and/or the waitlists.
I missed my waitlist notification. What should I do?
They will need to add themselves back to the waitlist or select another course/section. Please note: waitlist notifications can be sent at any time (even overnight and/or on weekends) and that students have 48 hours to respond to the notification.
I see a registration error that the section is full, but I see a seat available on Class Schedule. Why can’t I student register for it?
Seats held for waitlisted students will show as available during the 48 hours after waitlisted student is given to respond. If the first student on the waitlist does not respond, it is offered to the next student on the waitlist.
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