Registration Conflicts

A “hold” is placed on registration for students who have any outstanding obligations to the university. These obligations can include outstanding debts, failure to comply with immunization policies, failure to comply with certain admissions requirements or academic regulations, and violations of conduct codes or other University rules.

If you have a hold on your registration, you will not be permitted to register until the hold has been released by the initiating office. If you attempt to register before your hold has been released, the response will indicate which office has placed the hold. The possible holds and contact phone numbers follow:

The system will not allow registration for two courses that meet at the same time or overlap time. If you want the second course instead of the one for which you are registered, you must drop the first one before adding the second course; however, be aware of any restrictions attached to the second course that may prevent registration.

The exception to this statement is Summer Quarter. This feature of electronic registration is not available due to the number of short courses offered.

Students are responsible for ensuring that they have satisfied all prerequisites, with a grade of C- or better, before registering for a given course. Although some prerequisite enforcement is driven by the Web registration system, students should not assume they are eligible to enter a course without having taken the prerequisite just because the system allows them to register for the course. A student who has registered for a course without satisfying prerequisites or obtaining permission may be required by the instructor to withdraw from the course. If an instructor requires a student to withdraw from a course because a prerequisite is not satisfied, the student is responsible for doing via Web registration. All tuition, fees and withdrawal related deadlines apply.

If a course is restricted and requires permission, students may request an override clearance from the instructor or department office. Override restrictions are designated with an OV in the restriction column. Once the override clearance has been issued by the instructor or department, it is necessary for the student to register for the class.

For pedagogical reasons, some courses are restricted to certain levels of students, to students who are declared majors, or to those who have received special permission from the instructor. Such restrictions are listed in the online Timetable of Classes.

Students are responsible for ensuring that they have satisfied all prerequisites before registering for a course. A student who has registered for a course without satisfying prerequisites may be required to withdraw from the course by the instructor.

Because of high demand for many courses, departments often must give enrollment priority to students for whom specific courses are requirements. If a department restricts a course to its declared majors the department must also allow in the course other declared majors for whom the course is listed as a requirement.

Undergraduates at WWU who are in their senior year and have at least a 3.0 grade point average can take a single graduate course during any quarter, but under certain provisions. There must not be an appropriate undergraduate course in their field that is equally available; permission must be obtained in advance from the department chair and graduate program advisor of the department offering the graduate course; and the Graduate Office must approve the enrollment. A senior who later enters a master’s program at WWU may transfer up to nine credits of coursework into the master’s program. The credit must not have been used for the baccalaureate degree and must meet all criteria for transfer credit. To register, contact the Graduate School office for a registration system override. Post-baccalaureate students may enroll for 500-level courses. All prerequisites must be met and permission obtained from the department.

Neither undergraduate nor post-baccalaureate students may enroll in 600-level courses.

Because of high demand for many courses, departments often must give enrollment priority to students for whom specific courses are requirements. If a department restricts a course to its declared majors the department must also allow in the course other declared majors for whom the course is listed as a requirement.