The Nuances of Waitlist Protocol
Waitlist Protocol
You would think there would be almost nothing to say about this subject but the way the system works will surprise you.
First, if you are no longer interested in joining the course you are waitlisted on, please drop yourself. It allows others that are interested in the course to get on the waitlist; thank you. Read on.
Prior to Start of Term Before Payment Deadline
If you are on the waitlist, once a spot opens up, you will be removed from the waitlist and added to the roster. Then an email will be sent announcing you have been added to the course and payment arrangements need to be made. Easy so far but read the next paragraph.
The above mechanism does not work if you are currently enrolled elsewhere for that course. Suppose you want to take a MTH 111 course at a certain time but it is full, thus you get on that waitlist. But, in case that does not work out, you have already enrolled yourself in another MTH 111 course, and this strategy causes a surprise.
Now, you get to the number one position on the waitlist, and someone drops the course opening up a spot for you. Because you are already enrolled in another MTH 111, the system will not add you to the desired course and instead will remove you from the waitlist entirely and put the next person on the waitlist into the course. To recapitulate, the system allows you to sit in the waitlist but will not add you when your turn comes if you are already enrolled in the course elsewhere.
Prior to Start of Term After Payment Deadline
All the above mention continues to hold. Suppose that you are automatically enrolled after the payment deadline. You have roughly 24 to 36 hours to make payment arrangements or the system will drop you from the course. I say roughly, because the deadline is not only based on the moment you were added, but also on the algorithm cycle, when the system is set to purge students that have not made payment arrangements.
After the Term Starts
The system no longer moves anyone from the waitlist. If you are still interested in joining the course, email the instructor to let them know you are still interested. After the term starts, faculty receive emails from students asking to join a course and since most people on the waitlist have already made other arrangements, faculty add those students that have made the effort to email them, if there is room. Sometimes faculty email students on the waitlist, so if you are still interested, keep checking your email or take the initiative and email.