ENVS Waitlist Priority Policy

Course Restrictions, Waitlist, and Override Policy

Course Major Restrictions

The Department of Environmental Studies carefully projects course needs for our pre-majors and declared majors. Many ENVS 300 and 400 level courses are only open to students who 1) have been accepted into the program and declared an ENVS major, 2) have a declared ENVS minor, or 3) have the course specifically listed in their major or minor degree requirements.

Temporary Major Restrictions

Several of our courses are in high demand, both inside and outside of our department. To ensure that students who need the course for their degree have access, the department may place specific major restrictions on some high-demand courses during the first two weeks of registration. Specifically:

During the first two weeks of registration, some sections of ENVS 201, 203, and 301 are reserved for ENVS pre-majors. Other sections will be open to all students.
During the first two weeks of registration, many GIS courses are reserved for ENVS majors or College of the Environment majors who have met pre-req requirements. These courses will be open to all students who meet pre-reqs after two weeks.
Some biophysical geography courses are reserved for ENVS majors who meet pre-reqs during the first two weeks. The courses are open to all students who meet pre-reqs after two weeks.

If a temporary restriction is in place, a note will be visible under the course title in Classfinder and Browse Classes. If you would like to register for these courses, but do not meet the major restrictions, please try again after two weeks.

Override Requests

Students unable to register for a course may request an override using the College of the Environment Override Request Form. Override requests are generally used when:

Students do not meet pre-reqs but wish to take the class
Students nearly ready to declare their major and who want to begin 300 and 400 level coursework
Students from other departments or colleges that are interested in taking an ENVS course as an elective

College staff and instructors will work together to evaluate override requests and grant them at their discretion. Override requests cannot be used to override temporary major restrictions. If a course has a temporary major restriction and you cannot register, wait to register until after these temporary restrictions are removed two weeks from the start of registration.

Waitlist Priority

The Department closely monitors ENVS courses during registration period. When a large waitlist develops, we assess options. We may notify students of alternative courses or may open up additional sections of the course. A small number of students on waitlist may be given capacity overrides to register for the course, based upon the following prioritization:

200-level ENVS classes

ENVS declared majors -- class required for major
ENVS pre-majors -- class required for anticipated major
Other College of the Environment pre-majors -- class required or part of a list
Other College of the Environment minors -- class required or part of a list
Other students

300 and 400-level ENVS classes

1. Graduating students, class need for graduation

ENVS declared major student
ENVS declared minor student
Other College of the Environment declared major students
Other College of the Environment declared minor students

2. Class required for major

ENVS declared major students
College of the Environment declared major students
Other declared major students

3. Class required for minor

ENVS declared minor students
College of the Environment declared minor students
Other declared minor students

4. Class listed as an option to meet a major or minor requirement

ENVS declared major or minor students
College of the Environment declared major or minor students
Other declared students

5. Other interested students

ENVS pre-majors who meet pre-req requirements
Other students who meet pre-req requirements