Oh-Wooo Help Desk

How do I manage the wait list for my class?

Here are instructions for managing the wait list, as well as myths about the wait list below that.

1. Log into OWU Self-Service and click on the Classes tab.
2. Click the Enrollment link on the bar below the tabs.
3. Select Waitlist from the menu on the left side of the screen. The title of the page should now read Enrollment – Waitlist.
4. Click on Select Course just below the words Enrollment – Waitlist.
5. Hover your mouse over the registration term (year/term) and your list of courses will appear off to the right. Click on the course you would like to review. You may also use the menu beneath the Select Course option to navigate to your course.
6. Only those students on the waitlist will appear in the new window.
7. Students are listed in date order; however, you can select which student you would like to add. This allows for senior preference or special circumstances.
8. To offer a student the available seat, change the Status from Waiting to Pending in the drop down menu and hit save. Changes will not be saved if you exit prior to saving. This does not automatically add the student to your class. The student must accept the waitlist offer before he or she will appear on your roster.
   Note: If your class is full, contact the registrar’s office to increase your course limit prior to adding a student from the waitlist. Waitlist offerings cannot exceed the capacity for the course.
9. The student will have 48 hours to accept the pending course and add it to their schedule. If they do not respond before the deadline, the course is available for the next student on the waitlist. If the student’s registration portal is closed, the student will not be able to register for the course until it reopens. Keep this and the 48-hour restriction in mind when setting a student’s status to pending.
   Note: Students received instructions on the use of the waitlist and the 48-hour turnaround. An e-mail notification will go out to the student and the instructor when the offer is made. This process runs once per hour.
10. The system updates the registration totals and class roster once the student accepts the seat and proceeds through the registration process to add the course. The student must meet all prerequisite requirements to register.

Myth #1: The system will automatically assign the next person on the wait list if a seat becomes available.

Fact: The system will not assign the first person on the wait list. The only way a student on the wait list can add the course is if the professor sets the student’s wait list status to Pending in Self-Service. Faculty members can award the seat to any student on the wait list. Click here for detailed instructions on Wait List Management.

Myth #2: If a seat becomes available, the system will allow a student not on the wait list to “swoop in” and take the open seat.

Fact: Self-Service will not allow a student to fill an open seat until the wait list is exhausted. If there is one student on the wait list and one seat becomes available, the system will not allow anyone but the student on the wait list to register and that is only if the instructor set the student to Pending. If there are two seats available and one student on the wait list the system will allow one random student to register. If you keep a paper wait list, any student can take an open seat the moment it becomes available in self-service.

Myth #3: If a class is full but the professor wants to add a student from the wait list, s/he can do that by setting the student’s status to Pending and telling him or her to register.

Fact: The system will not allow a faculty member to over load a course above the set cap. To add a student over the cap, contact the Registrar’s Office and request an increase.

Myth #4: Once a faculty member sets a student on the wait list to Pending, the student is automatically registered.

Fact: Students must self-register within 48 hours of being set to Pending.

Myth #5: Students have an indefinite amount of time to add a course after the faculty member sets their status to Pending.

Fact: Students have 48 hours to register after they are set to Pending in self-service. If a student does not accept the Pending course, move on to the next student on the list.

Myth #6: Students can register for a Pending course even if their portal is closed.

Fact: Students cannot register for a course if their portal is closed even if it is a wait listed course set to pending. Keep this timing in mind when approving students from the wait list.