Registration

Fall 2017 Drop/Add

Drop/Add will open in PeopleSoft on Tuesday, September 5:

• Seniors at 7:00 pm
• Juniors at 8:00 pm
• Sophomores at 9:00 pm
• First-years in the afternoon, after meeting with your academic advisor

Drop/add will close at 4:30pm on Friday, September 15.

Tutorial drop deadline is 4:00 pm, Wednesday, September 6.

First Class Meetings

Attending first class meetings is important! Any courses that do not have a regular meeting on Thursday or Friday have a first meeting scheduled on Thursday evening, 9/7, or Friday, 9/8.

• For any course in which you are currently enrolled, if you do not attend the first class meeting, the instructor may drop you and give your space to another student.
• Instructors may also refuse permission to add a course if you have not attended the first class meeting.
• If you add a course online for which you did not attend the first class meeting, check with the instructor promptly to make sure you have approval to do so.

Action Tasks

• Each year, all students are required to sign the Honor Code.  For students who have not yet signed, the Honor Code will pop up on login to PeopleSoft, or navigate to Academic Records > Williams Honor Code.
• Check holds in PeopleSoft under the Campus Personal Information menu and resolve as soon as possible so you can change courses.

Helpful Tips for Changing Courses

• Check the Status of a Course

  The easiest way to check a course status is in the online catalog while you are browsing for courses. Drill down on a subject and then on Fall course offerings. The open/closed status displays to the right of the course section listings. If the course is Instructor or Department consent, 'Inst' or 'Dept' will display in the right most column.

  You can also check a course status in PeopleSoft through the Class Search (on the Student Center, under the Class Search menu, or when adding classes).  The open/closed status displays on search results as a blue square if closed or a green circle if open.  Click the section link on search results to drill down to Class Details and any instructor or department consent will be listed under Enrollment Information.  Much easier to check the online catalog first before you get into PeopleSoft.

• Add Classes

  • Navigate to the Add Classes page under the Enrollment menu.
  • Check the term to make sure it is Fall 2017. If not, click Change Term to select Fall 2017.
  • Search for a class to add or Enter the Class Number. Class Numbers are included in the online catalog.
  • In search results, check open/closed status and click the link to check for instructor consent in the class details.
  • If adding a lab or conference course, you will either see a message that you are automatically enrolled in the lecture or you may be asked to select a related section. Select a section if needed and click Next.
  • On the Enrollment Preferences page you can change the Grading Basis to Extra Graded to designate this as your fifth course if you wish, then click Next.
  • Once the class(es) you want to add are in your Shopping Cart, click Proceed to Step 2 of 3.
  • Confirm your adds and click Finish Enrolling.
  • Check for Success or Errors. If you don’t understand the error message, contact the Registrar’s Office.
  • Check your Class Schedule to confirm your enrollment.

• Adding Consent or Closed Courses

  • Course closed/No Instructor Consent Flag - very few courses are like this.  It’s worthwhile to check again later - as other students drop, the course may open.  It’s also worthwhile to contact the instructor or go to the first-class meeting.
  • Instructor Consent Flag - these courses may already have a waitlist - who may add will be resolved by the instructor at the first meeting. Many of these courses were overenrolled, some students have been dropped already and instructors may have a waitlist. Please keep in mind that space may not open up in some of these courses and you should have a back-up plan. Other courses may specify in the catalog permission of the instructor or department chair. To add the course, contact the instructor or go to the first class meeting. Note that organizational meetings are first class meetings. If the course was closed, it may be worthwhile to check again before the class meets to see if any spots have opened up. Check the catalog description for any indication of whether certain majors or class years get preference for slots available. Any adds allowed may be handled by e-mail notice from the instructor to the Registrar’s Office or by signed add cards; the instructor will let you know which.
  • Department Consent Flag – these courses may already have a waitlist – the department office is coordinating adds to these class section.  Check with the department office to see if spaces are available.
  • Adding Closed or Instructor Consent courses.  Most instructors e-mail the Registrar's Office directly with requests to add students to closed or instructor consent courses. If an instructor does not e-mail, you may ask them to sign an add card which you must bring to the Registrar’s Office.  These cards are available from the Registrar’s Office.  Most instructors use e-mail rather than add cards.
  • Thesis and Independent Study. If you are adding a thesis or honors project, you need an e-mail sent to the Registrar's Office from the instructor you will be working with or from the department chair. To add an independent study course 397 or 497 you need an independent study petition signed by the instructor and the department chair. Independent study petitions should be turned in to the Registrar’s Office.

• Drop

  • Navigate to the Drop Classes page under the Enrollment menu.
  • Check the term to make sure it is Fall 2017. If not, click Change Term to select Fall 2017.
  • Click the Select Box to the left of the course you wish to drop and click Drop Selected Classes.
  • Confirm your drops, then click Finish Dropping.
  • Check for Success or Errors.
  • Check your Class Schedule to confirm the drop.

• Swap Classes or Lab/Conf Sections

  • Navigate to the Swap Classes page under the Enrollment menu.
  • Check the term to make sure it is Fall 2017. If not, click Change Term to select Fall 2017.
  • Select the swap from class from the dropdown in the Swap This Class section.
  • Search for a new class or enter a class number under the With This Class section.
  • In search results, check open/closed status and click the link to check for instructor consent in the class details.
  • For a lab or conference course, select related components, then proceed to the Enrollment Preference pages as in adding a class.
  • On the Enrollment Preferences page you can change the Grading Basis to Extra Graded to designate this as your fifth course if you wish, then click Next.
  • Confirm the swap and click Finish Swapping.
  • Check for Success or Errors. If there are errors, neither the drop nor the add have been processed. You may want to drop the course you intended separately, or if the swap did not work your choice may be to stay where you are. If you don’t understand the error message, contact the Registrar’s Office.
  • Check your Class Schedule to confirm your enrollment.

  Special Swap Circumstances

  • When swapping a lab or conference section for a single lecture course, the swap is for the lab/conf section from and to. You will remain enrolled in the lecture section (even if the lecture section is currently closed).
  • When swapping sections in a multi-lecture, multi-conference or multi-lab course:
    • To swap conf/lab sections, under swap "with", select another conf/lab section, then select the lecture section on the related components page. If you select the same lecture that you are currently enrolled in, your enrollment will remain, even if the section is closed.
    • To swap lecture sections, under swap "with", select another lecture section, then select the conf/lab section on the related components page. If you select the same conference or lab that you are currently enrolled in, your enrollment will remain, even if the section is closed.
    • To swap both lecture and conf/lab sections, under swap "with", select either the lecture or conf/lab section, then select the other component section on the related component page.

• Virtual Sections for Lab/Conf Swaps

  Some of the large multi-sectioned courses which need to limit enrollments per section have ‘virtual’ sections to accommodate section changes. These virtual sections are indicated in the class hour directory and have a ‘V’ section number.

  How to use the virtual section? If you are adding the course, or need to make a section change, try first to add the section you want. Checking the course status for open sections will be helpful. If you can’t add into any open section, add the virtual section. This at least gets you into or keeps you in the course. As other students drop/add, closed sections may open; it will be worthwhile to check later to see if a space has opened up in a section you want. Don’t be afraid to use the virtual section; if nobody moves, the section changes will gridlock. If you can’t get out of the virtual section into a real section:

  • Lab or Conf assignments will be sorted out during the first full week of classes. Instructors may ask you to change sections to accommodate other students and to keep the sections balanced.
  • BIOL 101 lecture and labs - For lecture section A1 or A2, you should register for lab section A3-A6 or the virtual lab "V1". For lecture section B1 or B2, you should register for lab section B3-B6 or the virtual lab "V2". If the lecture section you need is closed, you should attend the first class meeting you wish to be in and talk to the instructor about adding.