Wait Listing is a feature in the Penguin Portal registration system that allows a student to “wait in line” for courses that have reached capacity/closed.
Advantages of Wait Listing
- Students will be notified automatically via email when a seat becomes available based on their wait list position; no more manual, periodic review of the schedule of classes.
- By encouraging students to wait list a closed course, departments will no longer need to issue capacity overrides; let the system do the work for you.
- Wait listing will provide a means for administrators to track the demand for certain courses and better manage curriculum offerings.
General Guidelines
- Students should be directed to the wait list instructions online.
- Student requests to be put on a wait list through the registration process. The feature will check for registration errors before adding student to the wait list.
- The wait list holds a place in line should a seat become available (this does not guarantee a seat in the class or mean the student is registered for the class).
- Student is notified via YSU email once a seat becomes available and has 24-hours to decide whether or not to register for the class. During this time period, no other student will be able to take that open seat.
- If the student does not register within the 24-hour time period, he/she will be removed from the waitlist and the open seat will move to the next person on the wait list.
All registration holds will prevent a student to register for a wait list course even if a notification has been sent.
Students are allowed to wait list a class with a time conflict, however time conflicts have to be resolved before the student can register for the wait listed class.
Students should be strongly encouraged to be considerate and remove themselves from a wait list if they no longer want the class.
| Term | Wait Listing Begins | Wait Listing Ends |
|---|---|---|
| Summer | Wait listing will not be offered during the summer term. | |
| Fall | First Day of Registration | The Friday BEFORE Classes Start |
| Spring | First Day of Registration | The Friday BEFORE Classes Start |
Frequently Asked Questions for Faculty/Staff
How does wait listing impact capacity overrides?
- For sections that utilize the wait listing option, no capacity override should be given. Students on the wait list will be notified that seats are now available and they can register for the course.
- If a capacity override is granted to a student not on the wait list, then the student on the wait list who was notified of an open seat in a class will not be able to register for the class.
- We urge the faculty and departments to let the waitlist do its job rather than issue capacity overrides while wait list notifications are active.
- Other permit overrides such as prerequisite, co‐requisite, major restriction, time conflict, and special approval, if needed, are still required for registration.
How do instructors see if there are students on the wait list for their courses?
- Instructors may see any wait listed students by logging into the Penguin Portal and selecting Banner Self-Service – Faculty Services – Summary Wait List.
May a student wait list more than one course?
- Yes, students may list themselves on more than one course/section wait list.
May students still be on a wait list if they have failed the in-progress prerequisite the prior term?
- Once a student has signed up on a registration wait list, they are not dropped from it unless they drop themselves.
- If they are notified that a seat is available in a section for which they have failed their in-progress prerequisite, they will receive a prerequisite registration error and will not be able to register for the section.
Will students be able to wait list for a section that causes a time conflict on their schedule?
- Yes, students will be able to sign up for a wait list that will cause a time conflict if they have the opportunity to register for the section. This gives students flexibility in creating a schedule.
- They will not be able to register for this section without resolving the time conflict.
How does a student being dropped for non-payment affect their wait listed courses?
- If a student has a prior term outstanding balance, they may be dropped from their classes. If a student is dropped from their classes, they will also be dropped from any waiting lists.
- If the student resolves their outstanding balance, it will be their responsibility to re-add themselves to any waiting lists from which they were dropped from; they will not retain their original position on those waiting lists.
If you have questions about wait listing, contact the Student One Stop at (330) 941-6000, or onestop@ysu.edu.