Waitlist Operating Principles

The following approach to waitlists was adopted by the campus, with the goal of increasing its utility as a tool that accurately reflects student demand for scheduled courses and course sections. This approach has the effect of assuring respect for established limits on class size while not adversely affecting overall enrollment.

It remains the responsibility of the Academic Unit to determine if waitlists will be used for a course and to set the maximum limit for a waitlist.

Under these guidelines:

The opportunity for students to waitlist courses will remain open through the first eight days of classes for a full term, and the first three days of classes during a half term.

During the add/drop period:

• The responsibility for managing enrollment in a course section lies with Office of the Registrar for all courses except the following:
  • College of Business courses*
  • Select lecture/lab Natural Sciences courses
  • Opt-In courses that have the Instructor Approved Add registration restriction code.
    • Instructors begin monitoring the waitlists for courses with this restriction beginning the second week of classes in a full term (beginning the fourth day of classes in a half-term).
• Individual faculty will have the authority, but under no circumstances, any obligation, to authorize the enrollment of a student into a section outside of the waitlist process. If the instructor of a course authorizes permission for a student to get into a class during the first two weeks of the term (first week of a half term), and the course is not included in one of the exceptions listed above, they will do so with the possible effect of exceeding the established enrollment limit for the course.
• A student who places his/her name on a waitlist for a specific section agrees to automatic registration in the section if space becomes available during the registration/drop/add period or if a new section is opened at a meeting time/day identical to that of the existing section.
• Students will receive, via official UM-Dearborn email, notification that a waitlist action has occurred.
• Students will not be permitted to remain on a waitlist for more than one section of a given course.
• Students will not be permitted to remain on a waitlist for a section of a course if already registered for another section of the same course.
• Students will not be permitted to remain on a waitlist for a section of a course that conflicts in time with another course for which they are registered or waitlisted.
• The same standard of prerequisite and restriction checking will apply to waitlist a course as applies to register for a course.

* The College of Business Student Services Office will monitor and enroll students from the waitlist into business courses.