PRE-REGISTRATION -  General Frequently Asked Questions

• What are the differences between pre-registration and drop/add?
  Pre-registration is the first phase of Wesleyan's course registration process.  During pre-registration students may enroll in no more than 4.00 full credit courses (excluding private music lessons and partial-credit courses).  Pre-registration takes place during November and April, for the upcoming semester, for students who are on-campus and during January and August, just prior to the start of classes, for new students and students returning from non-resident study or a leave of absence.
   
  Students should use the pre-registration period to identify and select courses they are interested in, particularly those with limited enrollments, and to submit ranked drop/add requests for those courses that they were closed out of during pre-registration. During pre-registration the electronic scheduling system determines who will be allowed into the course, based on a variety of criteria including class standing, major preference, seat availability, the number of times the student has previously requested the course, and whether the student has met the pre-requisites or has the permission of the instructor.  Advisors must approve a student's course plan before it can be included in the scheduling program and must also approve individual drops and adds during the adjustment period.
   
  Drop/add is the second phase of Wesleyan's course registration process. During drop/add students may enroll in more than 4.00 full credit courses with the permission of their advisor, who will need to increase their credit limit electronically.  Drop/add begins on the first day of classes each semester and is ten days in length.
   
  The ranked drop/add requests which students made during pre-registration will appear in the drop/add system and are used by instructors to admit students to courses.  Students may also make unranked drop/add requests once drop/add opens. During drop/add instructors determine who may be admitted to the course. Advisors must approve individual drops and adds during the drop/add period.
• Why are there three phases of pre-registration?

  Pre-registration will have three distinct phases: planning, pre-scheduling, and adjustment.  Students will use the planning period to identify courses that they have an interest in and to build a course plan, which their advisors must approve.  Students will meet with their advisors during the planning period to discuss their course plan.
   
  During the pre-scheduling period, the pre-registration system will assign classes based on a variety of criteria.  Once the program has completed, students and their advisors will be given 48 hours to view their schedules before the adjustment period begins.  The adjustment period will allow students to alter their schedules and to submit ranked drop/add requests for those courses that they were closed out of.
   
  The adjustment period will open to students in a staggered fashion.  Students who were assigned to two or fewer credits during pre-scheduling will be granted access on the first day, students who were assigned to three credits or less will be granted access on the second day, and the remaining students (who were assigned to more than three credits) will be granted access on the third day of the adjustment period.  Advisors must approve individual drops and adds during the adjustment period.

• How will the scheduling program work?

  The scheduling program will be run during the pre-scheduling period and will assign students to classes based on the following:

  • Number of courses scheduled
  • Rank
  • Class Year
  • Major
  • Previous number of times requested 
  • Random number as a tie-breaker

  The program will check for time conflicts (student may not be scheduled in classes with overlapping times) and will not allow a student to enroll in more than four full-credit courses. 
  The scheduling program will be run three times.  During the first run, students will be scheduled into classes based on the bin allocations for the course (seats set aside for major and class year).  During the second run, remaining available seats will be distributed into two bins - a major bin and a non-major bin.  Students will be placed into available seats without regard to their class year but only majors will be eligible for the major seats.  During the third run, students will be assigned any remaining seats without regard to major or class.  During all three runs class exclusions, prerequisites, and permission of instructor will still be applicable.
   
  Once the program has completed, students and their advisors will be given 48 hours to view their schedules before the adjustment period begins.  During that time WesMaps will display courses with seats available.
• How can I reach the registration help line?
  The registration help line will be open each semester from the time that pre-registration opens until it ends, during normal business hours, Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 5pm. The phone number of the registration help line is x3222.  You will be able to leave a message after hours.
• What does the Past Enrollment Probability in WesMaps mean?
  This represents the % of proceeded ranked course requests that resulted in a course enrollment during the scheduling phase of pre-registration over the last four years.  This information is provided to aid students in deciding where to rank a course during the planning phase of pre-registration.  This % is displayed in the following ranges:  'Less then 50%',  '50% - 74%',  '75% - 89%' or  '90% or above'.