When does the enrolment period take place?
Enrolment in courses normally begins in July (August during the COVID-19 pandemic). It is divided into four segments.
- Restricted enrolment. This is the period during which your appointment on SOLUS will take place. There are certain restrictions during this time, such as places being reserved in some courses for students in specific degree plans.
- Registration pause day. This is a single day when these restrictions expire and SOLUS processes waitlists that were waiting on them to expire. No one can enroll you in classes on this day.
- Open enrolment.
- Add/drop periods. You can add and drop courses up to roughly the end of the second week of classes - but even though you can add a course late, it may not be a good idea since you will be behind in the course material.
How can restrictions affect my enrolment?
Until Open Enrollment starts there are restrictions on who can enroll in certain courses. For large courses, especially 2nd year, it is critical that you enroll during this time, lest you be locked out by non-Computing students during Open Enrollment.
If you get the SOLUS message "reserved for students in other plans" it is because of these enrolment reserves.- 1st year courses except Fall CISC 124 are reserved for 1st year Arts and Science students; this is a blanket policy of Arts and Science.
- A limited number of places are reserved for students in certain plans for courses required in those plans that are not core in the major or CSCI. In this case if you get the "reserved" message it is likely because the un-reserved places have filled; more may be available afer Registration Pause Day. Typical reserves are:
- Winter CISC 221, 223 and 235 are entirely reserved for 2nd year students since most upper-year students should be taking them in the fall. The main exceptions are Computing minors, and dual degree and 2nd degree students; if you are in one of these three categories, you can ask the undergraduate assistant for an override.
- Places for 3rd and 4th year BMCO students in CISC 320, 332, and 352.
- Places in all AI courses for 3rd and 4th year COGS students. SOLUS cannot tell what option you are following in the major and Computer Science specialziation, so it is impossible to reserve spaces for AI students.
- Places in CISC 322, 325, and 327 for 3rd and 4th year SODE students.
All 3rd and 4th year CISC courses except those for the Data Analytics Certificate are permanently reserved for CISC students via a prerequiste; this is separate from enrolment reserves. The only exceptions are those few couses for which we have made special agreements with specific other departments.
Why should I avoid deferring courses?
The leading digit of a course is the year in which it is expected to be taken; thus 300-level courses are expected to be taken in 3rd year, for example. Do not defer a course to a later year if at all possible; this may require that you give up taking a desirable optional course in favour of a required core course.
We cannot guarantee a conflict-free timetable between courses intended to be taken in different years.
Can I substitute one course for another?
Sometimes one course can be substituted for another in your plan; specific cases may be mentioned in the enrolment news. For example, a topics course might be allowed as a Theory or AI or Software Design option in some years but not others. The substitution is recorded in your Academic Advisement Report; if you switch plans, the substitution must be approved over again.
Please refer to the FAQ on satisfying degree requirements in some non-standard way for instructions on how to request a substitution.
- For substitutions announced in the enrolment news, enrol in the substitute course then contact the undergraduate chair specifying the substitution.
- For other substitutioons, contact the undergraduate chair first.
I'm in COCA. Why can't I enrol in CISC courses during restricted enrolment?
SOLUS can't tell when someone intends to take a COCA degree, since COCA students are officially in Arts degrees instead of Computing degrees, so can't qualify for enrollment in CISC courses during the period when enrollment is restricted to Computing students. Contact the Academic Advising Team if you are in this position.