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Home   >  Office of the Registrar   >  Registering for Classes   >  Wait List

Wait List

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Registration - Wait Lists

Some courses may have electronic wait lists. For such courses, students may wait-list themselves via Self-Service.

  • Students may wait-list for only one section of a course. Students who wait-list for multiple sections of the same course will be subject to being removed from all wait lists for that course.
  • Students may not wait-list for one section and be registered for a different section of a course. Students in violation of this rule are subject to being removed from the wait list for the course.
  • After Phase I of registration, wait lists become automated. For more details about automation, click the automation link below.

How to register for a waitlist or accept a seat from the waitlist

Wait List Automation

Wait-list automation is a feature in which wait-listed students receive an email when a seat becomes available for them in the class. The emails are automatically generated and sent to students' email addresses.

Notes

  • Students have 24 hours from when the automated notice is sent or until the last date to add a class for the term, whichever comes first, to claim the seat by registering for the class in Self-Service
  • Students who fail to claim the seat before the deadline will be removed from the wait list entirely. In such cases, the system will automatically repeat the notification process with the next wait-listed student.
  • Automation, when active, runs 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, including weekends and holidays.
  • Reminder: students may wait-list for only one section of a single course. Students who wait-list for multiple sections of a course are subject to being removed from all wait lists for that course.

How Automation Works

  1. Students wait-list themselves or are wait-listed by a Drake staff member. Students may not wait-list for multiple sections of a single course.
  2. Students remain on the wait list until a seat becomes available in the section.
  3. A seat may become available in various ways
    • A registered student drops the section
    • A seat is added to the section
    • A previously wait-listed student for whom a seat had been saved did not claim the seat
  4. When the seat becomes available
    • The system detects the available seat and notifies the first wait-listed student via Drake email.
    • The notified student must claim the seat before their deadline expires.  (See the first bullet in the Notes section above.)
    • If the notified student fails to claim the seat before their deadline expires, the system will drop the student from the wait list and repeat the process with the next wait-listed student.

If you have questions about wait lists, please contact your dean's office or the Office of the Registrar.

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Des Moines, Iowa 50311
1-800-44-DRAKE


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