How does the waitlist work?

There are three courses. Math 384C has a few seats, CSE 384R has a few seats, SDS 384 (2) has more seats.

Only SDS has a waitlist.

The waitlist turns off after the 4th class day. Students can still be added to the course for a few days after that time with the permission of the instructor.

Do some students generally get into this class after classes begin?

Yes. For a several years, this class has been full before classes begin, with others wanting in. At some time in the first week, some students find that they are not prepared for the course, or don't want it for some other reason.

I do want to have students enroll to replace those who withdraw. Some usually withdraw after the 4th class day.

It is, however, very important that students who take the course start the work on time so that they are not behind.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will you be willing to put just one more student into the course?

Answer: Well, if I could do that, then the question arises of which one student it should be. And that is a difficult question to deal with. The University set up waitlists for courses to handle this. I only get involved in interfering with the waitlisting system at the request of the department. That happens very rarely.

I am on the waitlist. Can I come to the first day of class even though I am not enrolled?

Answer: Yes, I encourage you to do so. If you do succeed in enrolling, then it will be very good if you have experienced the class from the first day. But coming on the first day will not give you any priority for enrollment, since the waitlist process has no way deal with that.

If I don't get enrolled in the class until later, will I be able to turn in the first assignment late?

Answer: No assignments are accepted late. But there is a provision for dropping some homework grades, so it doesn't have to affect your grade if you aren't able to turn in the first assignment for grading. Obviously, you should do all the assignments to prepare adequately for the later work in the course.

May I just audit the course?

Answer: No. This is a very interactive course and it is important for the classroom interactions that all the students are working in the course for a grade. Having students audit is distracting to that. Also, in an earlier year when we didn't have such strict rules about audits, it was not uncommon for some classes to barely have enough students to "make" but have quite a few students auditing. That was a problem.

Can I just come to class on the first day to see what it is like?

Answer: Yes. But if you are doing this to decide whether to enroll, you must separately get onto the waitlist for the course to have a chance to be able to enroll. And if you aren't thinking about enrolling, there is not really any point to coming to the class.