Waitlist Management
Faculty and academic departments can help manage course waitlists by following the tips below.
Hope College courses follow the automated waitlist process. This means that when a seat opens in a course with a waitlist, the first student on the waitlist is notified that they can register for the course. Faculty and departments should not email students permission to add a class over the seat limit.
Initially, during the first week of registration, automated waitlisting will not be active. Waitlists will be started as classes fill up, but students will not be notified if seats become available.
Once automated waitlisting is enabled — typically the week after registration starts — open seats in your courses will fill automatically.
Students will not be able to register and/or waitlist for multiple sections of the same course. Students should waitlist for their preferred section if they cannot register for an open section. If they are able to register for an open section, they should do that even if it is not their first choice. There is no guarantee they will get into a waitlisted section.
Viewing your waitlists
Faculty and departments can view course waitlists in My College Account, on the same screen you view class lists. Once automated waitlisting is turned on, you can see each student’s waitlist position next to their name.
If a student has a waitlist position of 0 (zero), it means they've been notified of a seat opening and they have not yet registered for the course. Their notification deadline is listed next to their position. If the student registers, they will appear on your class list instead of your waitlist.
Allowing more students into courses
If you are able to make more space for students due to high demand in a course, here are your options.
Adding a new section
To add a new section of a course, fill out the Faculty Schedule Change Form; chairs and/or department schedulers should have the password. If you fill out the form within a month of registration, the Registrar’s Office will “reserve” the section for students on existing waitlists. The new section will be flagged PERMISSION and those students will be given overrides. We will email them that they have one week to register for the new section. After a week, we will remove the PERMISSION flag from the course and it will open to everyone.
If you fill out the form a month or more after registration, we will still create the new section, but we will not reserve it for students on existing waitlists. It will open up to everyone right away.
Allowing additional students into existing sections
Please make sure that your course capacities are set at the maximum that you and your assigned classroom can handle. Classroom inventory is very low, so you cannot assume you’ll be able to switch classrooms. Setting your course capacity correctly gives students the best idea of how much space is available in a section.
If you want to allow more students into an existing section after registration week, fill out the Faculty Schedule Change Form; chairs and/or department schedulers should have the password.
As soon as the Registrar’s Office increases the capacity on the course, students who are first on the waitlist will be emailed a notification that they can add the course.
Student waitlist notifications
When a seat opens up in a waitlisted course, the first student on the waitlist is sent an email notification that they can register for the course. They must register for the course on their own; neither the Registrar’s Office nor the system can register them automatically.
From the time automated waitlisting is turned on until the first day of the term (fall, spring or summer), students have 48 hours to register after they are notified of an opening. Beginning on the first day of the term, students are given 24 hours.
If a student does not register within their notification period, they will automatically be dropped from the waitlist.
Students are given the full notification period to register, even if they register right away. Therefore, the next student on the waitlist can’t be notified of a potential opening until the first student’s notification period expires.
Online registration closes at 5 p.m. on the first Friday of the fall and spring semesters; 5 p.m. on the third day of summer terms. Students cannot make schedule changes online after this time. Because of this, automated waitlisting is turned off one day prior: Thursday afternoon for fall and spring, and the afternoon of the second day for summer terms.