The Ohio State University

• Help
• Buckeye Link
• Map
• Find People
• Webmail
• Search Ohio State

• Academic Advising
• Academic Resources
• Course Registration
  • Planning Your Schedule
  • Adding/Dropping Classes
  • Academic Enrichment
  • Degree Audit
  • Transfer Credit Report
• Degree Planning
• Graduation
• Degree Planning Manual
• Dates & Deadlines

Adding/Dropping/Waitlisted Courses

Adjusting your schedule at any point in the quarter has implications. Please review the dates and deadlines below.

Adding Courses

• Once your window opens, you are able to add classes (if they are still open) on the Web until 8:00 p.m. of the first Friday of the quarter.
• After the first Friday and through the second Friday, you must have the permission of the instructor (on a Permission to Enroll form) to enter a class. This requires getting the form from the front desk of Denney Hall or from your department and having it signed by the instructor. After getting the appropriate signature, you must have the form processed in Denney Hall.
• After the second Friday through the third Friday, you must have the permission of the instructor AND the permission of the Department Chair of the course you want to take (on a Permission to Enroll form) to enter a class. This requires getting the form from the front desk of Denney Hall or from your department and having it signed by the instructor and the department chair. After getting the appropriate signatures, you must have the form processed in Denney Hall.
• The only way to add a class after the third Friday is by petitioning your college office. You must also have the above two signatures.

Dropping Courses

• Stop before your drop! Consider how dropping a course with affect your degree progress as well as your financial aid status. Please consult with a financial aid counselor and a Undergraduate Student Academic Services adviser to discuss the implications of dropping a course during any point in the quarter. It is also important to talk to your instructor while you are considering the drop to answer questions and/or concerns you may have.
• You may drop a course without a "W" on your record through the first Friday of the quarter.
• If you drop on or before the third Friday, no record of your enrollment will be recorded on your transcript. If you drop after the third Friday of the quarter, you will receive a "W" on your transcript, indicating that you withdrew. Note: Too many W's on your record shows a pattern of irresponsibility.
• You cannot drop classes after the seventh Friday without a petition. If, because of extreme extenuating circumstances, you wish to drop a class after the seventh Friday, see a Undergraduate Student Academic Services adviser to help you with the petition form. You will need supporting evidence from your instructors and any other supporting materials. (Proof, for example, of medical complications that prevented you from finishing the course.) You cannot drop after the seventh week simply because you are doing poorly in a class.

Waitlisted Courses

• You are placed on a Wait List if you are unable to schedule a course during registration due to time conflicts, closed sections, or canceled sections. You must meet all prerequisites for the course (or the instructor's permission to waive them must be posted by the college office) before you can be waitlisted for the course.
• You are added into a course from the Wait List on a "first-on, first-off" basis as space becomes available that fits your schedule.
• The Wait List is not section specific. The system will add you into the first available section that fits your schedule (for this reason, you may want to schedule "free time" if you cannot take classes at a certain time).
• Check the Wait List weekly before the quarter starts and daily during the first week of classes (The Wait List will be active through the first Friday of the quarter).
• You should attend the first week of class if your Wait List number is low
• It is your responsibility to know whether or not you have been put into a class and to monitor your waitlist on a regular basis.
• If you do not get into a waitlisted course in the quarter when you originally request it, you will be assigned a separate registration window prior to your normal one for the next quarter the course is offered. You should register for the course during the earlier window, which gives you priority scheduling for the waitlisted course. The web registration system will not automatically request your waitlisted course for you.