Student FAQs

Waitlist FAQs

Q: When does Waitlisting open?

A: If a course has been set up with the Waitlist option, students will have an opportunity to select the closed course as a waitlist during their registration process. A student will not have the option to waitlist for a course that is not filled to capacity.

Q: At what point does Waitlisting end?

A: All Waitlisting will be discontinued 2 days before courses begin for the part-of-term in which the course is scheduled.

Q: Are students added into waitlisted courses automatically?

A: No. The waitlist add/drop process is done manually. The student will receive an email notification once a seat becomes open and will have the option to register into the course. If the student does not complete the registration process within 24 hours, they will be removed from the waitlist and the next student on the list will receive an email.

Q: Is the student guaranteed a seat if they get on a waitlist?

A: No. Waitlisting does not guarantee a seat in the course. The student should check their positions regularly on the waitlist. If they are not moving up on the waitlist, they should contact a DMACC advisor for assistance in choosing an alternative course.

Q: Do registration restrictions prevent being added to the waitlist?

A: Yes. Registration Holds, Links, Duplicate courses, Pre-Requisites, Co-Requisites, Time Conflicts and Restrictions (for major, department, level, etc.) prevent registration and Waitlisting. For example: If a student attempts to Waitlist for a course and has not met a required pre-requisite, they will receive an error. The inability to be added to a waitlist or to move from the waitlist into the course may be due to one or more registration restrictions: duplicate course, pre-requisite, co-requisite, links, time conflict, major, degree program, student level, course level, campus, special approval from the instructor, department, honors, or maximum credits allowed have been exceeded.

Q: What will a Registration Hold do?

A: Registration Holds will restrict both processes of attempting to add the Waitlisted course and the Registration process.

Q: How are students notified when a seat is available on a waitlisted course?

A: The student will automatically receive an email notifying them the course has a seat available, the student will then have 24 hours to register into the course. If the student does not register into the course by the deadline, they will be removed from the waitlist and the next student in line will be notified of the available seat. This is the only notification the student will receive.

Q: How long does the student have to enroll in the waitlisted course after they are notified via email?

A: Once the student receives the email notification, they have 24 hours to complete the registration process. After that time, they will be removed from the waitlist and an email notification will be sent to the next student in line on the waitlist.

Q: What do the Waitlist messages mean?

A: When a student attempts to register into a course that is closed but has the waitlist feature, the student will receive a “waitlist” message notifying them the status of the Waitlist and what their position would be.

Waitlist - There are 0 student(s) on the Waitlist for this course: Means no one is on the waitlist and the student would be in position number 1, and would be first in line for the course.
Waitlist - There are 1 student(s) on the Waitlist for this course: Means there is one student on the waitlist already, and the student would be in position number 2.
Closed - Waitlist Full: Means the Waitlist Maximum is full and no more students can be added to the Waitlist. The Waitlist will open only if a student drops the course and a student on the waitlist enrolls in it OR a student on the waitlist drops their waitlisted course.
Open - Reserved for Waitlist: Means the course's maximum enrollment is open has been set up with the Waitlist option. The open seat is reserved for a student currently on the Waitlist. The waitlisted student is currently on the 24 hour time limit to enroll in the course.

Q: What do the Registration Action messages mean?

A: Once a student has added a waitlisted course to their schedule, the course is displayed under the Current Schedule as a Waitlisted course (not registered course). The student will then have options in what they do with their waitlisted course. These options will be on the Action drop-down arrow.

Waitlist - add to the Waitlist
None - cancel attempted registration
Web-Registered - register into the course (only after the course has a seat available and the student is notified via email)
Web Dropped - drop the student from the Waitlist

Q: What happens if a student misses the 24 hour timeline and still wants the course?

A: The student can add themselves back on the Waitlist but will at the end of the Waitlist line. Remember that the last day to add to a course Waitlist is 2 days prior to the start of the part of term.

Q: How does the student enroll in the course after they have been notified?

A. As long as course prerequisites have been met and the student has no holds preventing registration, they can register themselves (within the 24 hours after receiving a WL notification).

Log in to myDMACC – with your DMACC username and password
Locate Banner Self Service then Enrollment Services
Click Register for Credit Classes
When the next page opens, click Register for Classes
To Enter CRNs, click the Tab along the top and enter the CRNs in the blank field

Enter the CRN from the notification email you received
To officially be added to the course, you need to click Submit in the lower right corner. You will see Registered (highlighted in green) when it is completed.

Q: How can a student drop a Waitlisted course?

A. Students can remove themselves from a waitlist by going into Banner Self Service. If students drops themselves from the waitlist, they will NOT receive a notification if a seat becomes available.

Log in to myDMACC – with your DMACC username and password
Locate Banner Self Service and then Enrollment Services
Click Register for Credit Classes
When the next page opens, click Register for Classes

Select the appropriate semester then click Continue
Review Course Summary section in the lower right corner
If the course shows Waitlisted in the Status column, you will have the option to select **Web Dropped**
To finalize the drop – click Submit in the lower right corner. The status will then be changed to Deleted

Student Holds, if applicable, may prevent dropping courses via Banner Self-service – call Registration at 515-964-6800 for assistance

Course Waitlists are “cleared" the morning after the last day to add for each part of term

Q: What happens if a student is enrolled in a course that has an active Waitlist & they drop the course.

A: If a student drops a course which has an active waitlist, they cannot re-enroll into the course; they must add themselves to the waitlist or enroll in a different course

Q: What if a student is offered a waitlisted seat and changes their mind within the 24 hour period?

A: They can add or drop the course before the end of the 24 hour notification window. Once the window expires, the student could only add themselves back to the waitlist if the course is still full.

Q: Can a student get on more than one Waitlist?

A: Students can add themselves to multiple Waitlists for different courses. However, students can only add themselves to one Waitlist for the same course, as long as they are NOT currently enrolled in another section of that same course. This allows DMACC to decide if there is a need to add additional sections.

Q: What happens if the student is at their Maximum Credit Hours limit?

A: Unlike registration restrictions, maximum credit hours will not limit the student from adding a Waitlist course to their schedule; they will not however, be able to register into the course once there is an opening. The Waitlist course does not count any hours into the credit hours until the course is actually registered.

Q: Does the student pay tuition for a Waitlisted course?

A: Fees will be assessed AFTER the student officially registers into the course. Once fees are assessed, it is the students responsibility to pay by the tuition due date.

Q: What happens to the Waitlist if a student is administratively dropped?

A: Students may be administratively dropped from all courses including any courses on Waitlist. Students may be able to re-register in those courses with appropriate permission or after their issue was resolved. If allowed to re-register, students would also be able to get back on a Waitlist, but not retain their previous spot on the Waitlist. If a seat becomes available after the administrative drop, an email notice is sent to the first student on the Waitlist, providing 24 hours to register. The process continues for each open seat.

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Waitlist FAQs