Skip to Content

Search: {{$root.lsaSearchQuery.q}}, Page {{$root.page}}

Closed Course, Waitlist, and Override Information

Closed class information is available from Wolverine Access. 

Closed classes

Each class is listed with a specific number of available spaces. This number is determined by the department offering the course. Classes that reach enrollment capacity during registration will be listed as “closed.” On occasion, classes reopen if a department raises the enrollment capacity of the course and/or adds additional sections.

A student may register for a closed class only by obtaining an override (a permission entered in M-Pathways) for that class. Students obtain overrides from the department. Please refer to the section on “Overrides” located below and check with your department regarding the procedures for granting overrides.

Waitlists

Waitlist procedures exist to help deal fairly with students who wish to enroll in closed classes. The specific procedures vary from one department to the next and may vary for courses within a department. Waitlists may be administered through Wolverine Access, by departments, or by the individual instructors. Check with your department for procedures that apply to your course. You may indicate your course’s waitlist procedure in the LSA Course Guide. Departments also may indicate a department-wide policy as a summary statement in the LSA Course Guide.

Registration waitlists that begin when a course section has filled with registered students serve a number of uses for faculty, departments, and our College. From the students’ perspective, however, there is one important fact to know about how waitlists work. All students should be aware that there is no general rule that when overrides are issued for a class they must be in the order that they appear on the waitlist. The waitlist exists to let the faculty member know who and how many students have waitlisted a particular course section. And while the student names do appear on the list in the chronological order in which students added themselves to the list, no individual faculty member or department is obligated to issue permission numbers by this numerical ordering. It may be felt that other criteria weigh more heavily. For example, class standing (senior, junior, etc.) or whether or not the student is a major in the department may be considered more important than what number a student is on the waitlist.

Some courses are of special importance to students – for instance, declared majors or potential majors who need the course for the degree or as a prerequisite to additional work – and faculty may want to accommodate such students. There is often some attrition in the enrollment of a class; it is difficult to predict how much loss of enrollment a class might experience and the impact that overrides might have on the final numbers. Often students will attend a class, even though not officially registered, in the hope that natural attrition will free a space for them. The history of enrollment for the class and the presence of vacancies in other sections of the same class may influence a decision as to whether to issue overrides to students on the waitlist.

Overrides

Overrides allow all teaching departments to control entrance into those classes that have requirement groups, are by consent of instructor or department only, or are closed. If a class is “closed” in Wolverine Access or if entry into the class requires permission of instructor, a faculty member may provide an electronic override to allow the election. By giving students permission to enter a closed class or restricted courses with an override, those students can then enroll through Wolverine Access.

Students should contact either the instructor or the department involved for information on obtaining an override. Overrides are NOT available from the Newnan LSA Academic Advising Center or the Academic Standards Board.