What is Waitlisting?

Waitlisting is a type of automated queuing that will let you select full courses or classes (that have no spaces left) and join a list of students waiting to enrol.

If spaces become available and you are at the top of the waitlist, you will be automatically enrolled and notified by email.

Waitlisting is available for most courses and classes. If waitlisting is not available for your course or class, please submit a Full Class Request Form.

Students who do not register for a class will be periodically dropped from their courses to let other students course enrol and register instead. 

You must be registered for at least one class to remain in your course.

You can register for a back-up class and still keep your position on your preferred class waitlist.

How waitlisting works

Click here for a full step-by-step guide for each of the below sections, or follow the ordered steps below.

Rules for waitlisting

Waitlisting follows normal enrolment rules for:

Maximum Study Load (UOC): You cannot join a waitlist if you are already at the maximum UOC for a Term (normally 18 UOC). If you have been approved to Overload you can join waitlists up to your approved Maximum Study Load.

Conditions of Enrolment: If a course has requirements that need to be met before you can enrol, you still need to meet those requirements to join the waitlist and be enrolled. These can be Prerequisites, Co-requisites, Program Requirements, UOC Requirements and others. If you join a waitlist for a course you do not meet the requirements for, you will not be enrolled if spaces become available. 

Course Permissions: If the course you have selected requires School or Faculty consent or permission to enrol, you will not be able to join the waitlist and enrol unless that permission has already been given.

If you cannot join a waitlist, or if you receive an email saying you could not be enrolled, please check our Questions and Answers section before contacting The Nucleus: Student Hub.

Joining a waitlist does not guarantee that you will be enrolled in the course or class. You will only be enrolled if you are at the top of the waitlist, meet the enrolment requirements and spaces become available. 

How to join a course waitlist

PDF instructions for Course Waitlisting.

Follow the standard steps for Course Enrolment, logging on to myUNSW and searching for courses in your chosen Term, then:

a) When you try to enrol in a full course, it will show if it has waitlisting available. Click the check box to select the course and and click 'Confirm Enrolment Request'.

b) Confirm the details of your request and click 'Continue', then click 'Submit Enrolment Request'.

c) Success! You should see your waitlisted course in your Enrolment Basket.

If waitlisting is not available, see our Q&A on submitting a Full Class Request.

Monitor your UNSW student email account for notifications and see our Q&A for more details.

Joining the waitlist is an enrolment request. If space becomes available you will be enrolled in the course automatically and will then be responsible for finishing your Class Registration and will be liable for the course as with standard course enrolment.

 

How to join a class waitlist

PDF instructions for Class Waitlisting.

Login to myUNSW and open your Enrolment Basket for your chosen Term, then:

a) Click 'Select Classes' and enable 'Show Full Classes'.

b) Choose your class times and click 'Select Classes' again.

c) Click the check box for your course and click 'Confirm Enrolment Request', then select to Separate or Combine your waitlists.

Additional Separate Waitlist Information

Additional Combined Waitlist Information 1 and 2

If you are only joining one waitlist, you do not have to select to separate or combine.

d) Click 'Continue' to see the details of your waitlist request, then click 'Submit Enrolment Request'.

e) Success! You should see your waitlisted classes under your course in your Enrolment Basket.

Swapping waitlists

You can swap waitlists by following the standard steps for Swapping Course Enrolment, logging in to myUNSW, and going to your Enrolment Basket for your chosen Term, then:

a) Click Swap on your selected course, then search and select the new course you want to join:

b) Once you have selected the course to swap to, click Submit Enrolment Request and click through the confirmation windows to join the waitlist:

c) You should now see your waitlisted course in your Enrolment Basket. Monitor your UNSW student email account for notifications and see our Q&A below for more details. 

You will lose your waitlist position by swapping between two waitlists, but you will not lose your position in a course until the swap is completed.

You will not lose your position in a waitlist if you cancel a swap, however if you are over your Maximum Term Study Load for the Term, your position will be placed on hold.

Leaving a waitlist

PDF instructions for Leaving a Waitlist.

If you want to leave a waitlist, login to myUNSW and open your Enrolment Basket for your chosen Term, then:

a) Click 'Manage Waitlists' and see the details of your waitlists and available options.

b) Click the check boxes of the waitlists you want to leave and click 'Confirm Enrolment Request'.

If you leave a course waitlist, you will also leave any class waitlists for that course.

c) Confirm the details of your waitlist leave request and click 'Submit Enrolment Request'.

If you leave a waitlist, you will lose your position and will not get that position back if you rejoin. If you accidentally leave a waitlist, please contact the Course Authority (the Faculty or School running the course) for help.

Separate and Combined waitlists

PDF Instructions for Separating and Combining Waitlists

If you want to separate or combine waitlists, login to myUNSW and open your Enrolment Basket for your chosen Term, then:

a) Click 'Manage Waitlists' and see the details of your waitlists and available options.

b) Click the check boxes of the waitlists you want to separate or combine and click 'Confirm Enrolment Request'.

c) Confirm the details of your waitlist separate or combine request and click 'Submit Enrolment Request'.


Waitlisting Questions and Answers

I can't find the option to join a waitlist for my course/class

To join a waitlist, the course or class must have waitlisting available and must be full.

Most courses and some classes have waitlisting available at this time.

If waitlisting is not available for your course or class and is full, please submit a Full Class Request Form.

Who has priority on the waitlist? Who gets enrolled first?

By default, the waitlist will enrol students in the order they joined the waitlist, with students who joined first, being enrolled first. 

UNSW reserves the right to adjust the waitlist order. 

How and when do I find out if I've been enrolled?

Once a space in the course or class becomes available and you are at the top of the waitlist, you will be automatically enrolled.

You will then receive an email notification (to your UNSW student email account) of the outcome within an hour.

You can also check your Enrolment Basket on myUNSW to see your position and status in the waitlist.

What do I do after I've joined the waitlist?

After joining a waitlist, you need to monitor your UNSW student email account for any outcome notifications. These notification emails will include instructions and who to contact for help if needed.

Joining a waitlist does not guarantee that you will be enrolled, so we also recommend that you continue to search for alternative enrolment options. 

I'm fully enrolled but want to join a waitlist, how can I?

Although you can only enroll in courses up to your UOC maximum (normally 18 UOC) you can instead choose to Swap one of your enrolled courses for a waitlist course.

This will keep you enrolled in your current course until a place in the waitlist course becomes available, your enrolment will be swapped your enrolment without taking you over the maximum UOC.

 

My position keeps changing, what's happening?

While you are in the waitlist, you can move up (closer to number 1 on the list) or down (to the bottom of the list). This happens when other students on the list are enrolled, leave the list, or if the list is sorted or prioritized. 

Can I join more than one waitlist?

You can join multiple waitlists up to your Term Study Load (UOC) maximum.

If you are enrolled in multiple courses and in a waitlist for your last course, you can still enrol in another course, however your waitlist will be put on hold until you swap into it from another course.

Because joining a waitlist does not guarantee that you will be enrolled or given a spot in the course, we recommend that you continue to search for alternative Course Enrolment options so that you do not miss out.

I received an email saying my waitlist enrolment failed, what happened?

Waitlisting enrolment follows the same enrolment rules as standard Course Enrolment. Check the Waitlisting Rules section to see why you may not have been enrolled.

Contact The Nucleus: Student Hub for more help.

I accidentally left my waitlist and have lost my place, what can I do?

If you leave and rejoin a waitlist, you will be put to the bottom of the waitlist.

If you accidentally leave a waitlist and want to rejoin at your previous position, please contact the Course Authority (the Faculty or School running the course) within 24 hours for help.

Can I see my position and status in the waitlist?

You can see your position and status in the waitlist by hovering over the waitlisting information icon in your Enrolment Basket:

 

There a few different icons that you may see:

The blue WAIT icon means that you are in the waitlist and processing as normal. You can hover over the blue WAIT icon to see your position in the waitlist.

  The orange WAIT icon means that your position in the waitlist has been put on hold (paused) by a UNSW staff member. For help, contact your Course Authority (the Faculty or School running the course).

  The red WAIT icon means that the system tried to enrol you but received an enrolment error. You should check your UNSW student email account for an error notification or see the Enrolment Error by clicking on the information icon in your Enrolment Basket. For help, contact The Nucleus: Student Hub.

Does joining a waitlist guarantee a spot?

No, joining a waitlist does not guarantee that you will be enrolled in the course or class. You will only be enrolled if:

  • You are at the top of the waitlist,
  • Spaces become available and
  • You meet the enrolment requirements for the course.

I've joined a waitlist but think I should have priority, who can I speak to?

There may be some cases where your position in the waitlist can be changed. You should contact The Nucleus: Student Hub to discuss your situation.

I've joined a waitlist for Course/Class Enrolment, do I also need to submit a Full Class Request Form?

You do not need to submit a Full Class Request Form if you have already joined a waitlist.

You should only submit a Full Class Request Form under any the following circumstances:

  • The course/class is full and Waitlisting is not available
  • You are an offshore student unable to return to Australia and require an online course or class
  • You are a student registered with Equitable Learning Services and require a specific course or class time
  • The course is core to your program and not completing it in the upcoming term will delay your graduation or prevent you meeting prerequisites.

Can I register for a back-up class without losing my position in a class waitlist?

Yes! 

You can register for another class time as a back-up whilst keeping your position in a waitlist for another class in the same course. 

1. Log in to the Update Enrolment section on myUNSW, and navigate to the relevant year and term. The Course Enrolment page indicates the class(es) you are waitlisted for, and your position on the waitlist(s):

Screenshot of the Course Enrolment page as described above

2. Click Select Classes:

Screenshot of the Course Enrolment page

3. On the Class Timetable page, choose your back-up class. Your back-up class will appear in grey, and the class that you are on the waitlist for will be in faded blue. Click Select Classes:

Screenshot of the Class Timetable page as described above

4. Click the drop-down arrows beside the course in your enrolment basket to check your class details. To proceed, tick the box under Select? and click Confirm Enrolment Request

Screenshot of the Course Enrolment page as described above

5. You will be given two options. Select the first option to register in the back-up class and remain on the waitlist for your preferred class. Click Continue:

Screenshot of the Confirm Enrolment Request page as described above

6. Click Submit Enrolment Request:

Screenshot of the Confirm Enrolment Request page as described above

You should then get a Success message confirming that you have registered in your chosen back-up class, while remaining on the waitlist for your preferred class: 

Screenshot of the Enrolment Results page with a success message as described above

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