Waitlist FAQs | SURF
- Shelby Rossman
This article answers commonly asked questions about waitlists and edited on SURF for faculty and students.
Frequently Asked Waitlist Questions
What is a wait list?
The SURF registration system provides the opportunity for students to be placed on a wait list for closed classes. SURF will also use an auto-enroll system. Auto-enroll will automatically enroll waitlisted students based on their position number when a seat becomes available. Auto-enroll will occur on a nightly basis.
When do students get auto-enrolled into an open seat?
Auto-enroll will occur on a nightly basis. MiraCosta will notify students via e-mail if they have been auto-enrolled from a wait list into a class. If a student is automatically enrolled in a class, additional fees may be incurred by this enrollment and must be paid within 24 hours or the student will be dropped and not placed back on the wait list.
What will prevent a student from being auto-enrolled into an open seat?
Students will not be auto-enrolled from the wait list if any one of the following conditions exists:
Corequisites or prerequisites for the wait list class are not met.
Debt or other hold.
Student is seeking to repeat a course already completed.
If any of these conditions listed above exists, the auto-enroll system will enroll the next wait-listed student. Students who are skipped will receive an e-mail informing them that they were not placed into their wait-listed class and will remain on the wait list. They will be instructed to resolve the issue(s) if they wish to be placed into the class when another spot opens or they can remove themselves from the wait list. The third condition, course repetition, cannot be resolved in advance. The student must contact the instructor for permission to crash the class. If permission is granted, the student will then take the permission number to the Admissions and Records Office. A petition may be required.
What is the first day a student can waitlist?
Wait lists begin with registration appointments. If a wait list is available, a yellow triangle icon will appear next to the section in the class schedule on SURF.
What is the last day a student can waitlist?
The last day students can add themselves to a wait list is the Saturday before the start of the class. Students will no longer be auto-enrolled beginning the Sunday before the first day of classes. Beginning on the first day of classes, student enrollment into closed classes will be at the discretion of the instructor. If a student was not automatically enrolled and is still interested in adding classes for which they are wait-listed, the student must attend the class on the first day and obtain a permission number or have an add card signed by the instructor. If it is an online class, students must e-mail the instructor on or after the first day of class to request a permission number to add the class.
What prevents students from adding themselves to a wait list?
Enrollment appointment date/time has not yet been reached.
Requisites for the class are not met. (Message is returned to student that requisites are not met, but it does not tell them specifically what type of requisite is not met).
Maximum units to term and wait list reached: fall and spring, 18.0 combined; summer 8.0 combined.
Instructor Consent required to enroll in the class.
Student has a hold that prevents adding a class.
The last day to waitlist has passed.
Student is already enrolled or waitlisted in another section of the same course.
Class is not yet closed.
Wait list is at its capacity.
Time conflict between a currently enrolled or waitlisted class.
Can students be on the wait list for more than one section of the same class?
No. A student can only waitlist for one section of the same course.
Can a student waitlist for a class that conflicts in meeting time with an enrolled class?
No. Students are not allowed to waitlist for classes that have time conflicts with enrolled classes. The student would have to resolve the time issue prior to waitlisting in the class.
Is there a limit to the number of classes that can be waitlisted?
The limit is set by using units rather than classes. The term unit limit is a combination of enrolled and waitlisted courses. Fall and spring, 18.0; summer, 8.0.
Are the wait-listed units counted into the student’s total units for the term?
Enrolled units and wait-listed units are counted separately. Wait-listed courses do not count as official enrollment and may not be used to fulfill enrollment requirements toward financial aid or verifications of enrollment.
Are students charged the enrollment fee when they add themselves to the wait list?
No. Students are only charged the appropriate fees (enrollment, non-resident, Student Center, materials, and health fees) when they are enrolled in the class.
Will wait-listed classes appear on the student’s study list and enrollment summary?
Yes. Wait-listed classes and their position on the wait list will appear on both.
Do students remain on the wait list after they have enrolled in the class?
No. The student’s name is removed from the wait list.
When are wait-listed students removed from the wait-list roster?
Wait-listed students will be deleted at the end of add/drop or the second week of classes. This allows time after the “last day to waitlist” for departments and faculty to issue permission numbers during late enrollment. When the student names are deleted from the wait-list rosters, the listing will disappear from the student’s class schedule.
Once wait-listed students have been removed from the wait list roster, can a department still track who was on the wait list?
No. Once a name is removed from the wait-list roster, it is removed from all areas in SURF; however, opening day wait-list counts will be available in Eddi.
How do departments and instructors know who is on the wait list?
Class wait lists are available through class rosters in Surf. Read this article to learn how to access wait lists as faculty members.
Can students see who else is on the wait list for a class?
No. A student can only confirm that they are on the wait list for a class.
Can students drop themselves from a wait list?
Yes. Students can drop themselves from a wait list using Drop Classes in SURF.
Can students see their position on the wait list?
When students register for the wait list, they are notified of their position number. Both the number of students enrolled and the number on the wait list are viewable under each class listing in Class Search.