The following filters can be set within the Course Cart on a course-by-course basis. Filters applied in the Course Cart will impact the individual course. 

Delivery Mode Filter: This filter is used to specify the type of delivery you want for your courses. It includes in-person and online.  

Honors Filter: This filter is used to find only honors courses for your option.

Learning Center Filter: This filter is used to specify the location of where you want your courses to be held. Locations include learning centers not located on the University of Iowa campus in Iowa City.  

Unavailable Time Filter: This filter is used to create a block of time when you don't want to be in class. Creating an unavailable time filter will prevent Schedule Builder from returning course options that meet during the time frame you have indicated you are unavailable. 

Section Filter: Use this filter to find specific course sections. Click the course hyperlink to view all sections or choose from the section drop-down. 

Exclude Section Filter: This filter is used to exclude specific sections from schedule building.

Override "Available to Me" Filter: Skips the registration eligibility check for this course even if the "Available to Me" filter is indicated in My Filters. Use this option to view courses requiring special permission, other restrictions, and prerequisites.  

Ignore Time Conflicts: This filter disables the check for time conflicts for this specific course. It will allow you to build schedules where other courses may have a time conflict.

The Course Cart is a holding area for courses you have chosen to "Add to Scheduler." Courses of potential interest will display with a blue box. Enrolled courses will display with a yellow box. 

Within the Course Cart:

• You can add course filters (described above).
• When checked, the blue box will enable the course to be listed in built schedules. If unchecked, it will exclude the course from built schedules.
• The red "x" will delete the course from the course cart.

Disclaimer: Favorite Schedules do not guarantee a seat is available for a student. A student would need to complete the enrollment process steps for official enrollment in a course.

Schedule Builder actions, such as adding a course, changing filters, and saving favorite schedules, are confirmed via a green confirmation message displayed under the Schedule Builder header.

Steps to Add Courses to the Course Cart:

• Select Add Courses tool.
• Text Search and/or.
• Course Level and/or.
• Gen Ed (General Education Requirement) and.
• Ordering (defaults to Course Number).
• Click Search.
  • Semester hours displayed within course search results are those from the Course Library.
  • If a Course Library description and course description within Offerings Planner are indicated, both will display within the course search results.
  • Requirements and prerequisites are listed.
  • Click on the Add to Schedule Builder button or click on the course hyperlink to see the course sections offered. Can add to Schedule Builder from the course section list.

Build Schedules
Once course selections are in place, click Build Schedules. If Schedule Builder finds conflicts or issues, error messages will display and explain one or more reasons as to why a schedule couldn't be created based on course selections or filters. These conflicts will need to be resolved before building another schedule.

Depending on your selections, Schedule Builder will generate up to 10 schedules. In most cases, there will be the option to build more.  

If you don't want to save an entire schedule, but you like a specific section or time of a course, you can pin that section to your Course Cart. When you pin a section, you are telling the Schedule Builder to include only that particular section in the schedules it builds from your Course Cart. Pinning can be very helpful when you know you want a specific time or section of a course. 

Within a Built Schedule:

• Cog Icon: Under the Tools column
  • Utilize the Cog icon to access the function for Pinning and Blocking as represented by the push pin icon (Pin) and the circle with slash (Block).
• Push pin icon:
  • Adds this section as a section filter for that particular course in the course cart.
  • After pinning a section, if the course within the course cart was selected from the “Add Gen Ed” option or from a One-Click option, a new course option is created within the course cart, and the Gen Ed or One-Click option for that course is disabled.
• Block icon: Blocks the section from future built schedules. Will need to rebuild schedules to have the section blocked.
• Padlock icon: Under the Tools column indicates the student is enrolled in the section.  Enrolled sections cannot be pinned.
  • If you choose to block sections/courses, you will need to click Build Schedules again to view schedules displaying your updated preferences.  
• Unpinning or unblocking:
  • You must click on the Cog icon again to access the unpinning or unblocking function.

Schedule Views
Schedules will display in both List and Calendar Views.  

List View

• List of courses in that particular schedule. Indicates current enrollment and how many seats remain in the section.
• Hover over “some seats are reserved” in the notes field to see the specific population for reserved seats.
• Approximate number of s.h. in schedule: indicated at the top of the schedule list view.  

Calendar View

• Displays at a glance where courses take place during the week, with each course component having the same color.
• Clicking on the course in calendar view will indicate if it’s a lecture, lab, discussion, or stand-alone. There is also a link “More Info” which will open a new tab with the course description.
• Arranged courses (without specific time or location) are not displayed in calendar view. Many online courses do not appear as they are asynchronous.
• Courses that don't meet the full length of the semester will display as though they do, so that you may view these "off-cycle" courses alongside full-length courses.  

Viewing Additional Built Schedules

To view possible schedules, click on the numbers at either the top or the bottom of the page. 

You can retain schedules for future consideration and comparison by clicking Add to Favorite Schedules. You must do this before clicking Build More. Once you build more schedules, you cannot go back to schedules that haven't been marked as Favorite Schedules. You must name the Favorite Schedule to save it.

Disclaimer: Marking a schedule as a favorite does not guarantee you a seat in any course and does not reserve a seat for you. 

The Favorite Schedules indicator displays above the course cart once a schedule has been saved.

Any time you make changes to your Course Cart, you will need to click Build Schedules to create schedules that reflect updates. Keep in mind that any schedules you saved as Favorite Schedules prior to making changes in your Course Cart will not be updated. 

Once saved, the Favorite Schedules will appear above the Course Cart area. In this location you can review and delete Favorite Schedules. Favorite Schedules will be listed alphabetically, display the courses in the Favorite Schedule, and the semester hour total. To see the details of the Favorite Schedule, you must click on the title of the Favorite Schedule.

You will not have the opportunity to enroll using a Favorite Schedule until your registration day/time assignment occurs. In addition, any registration holds in place will need to be resolved before you will be able to enroll. 

The Schedule Builder program uses courses that are in Approved status at the time the student schedule is built. A student would need to build additional schedules once a new section is added or revisit their built schedule to see any modifications made to an existing section.

It is possible that one or more of your Favorite Schedules may have courses/sections that are no longer available. You can utilize the trash can icon to delete a course from your Favorite Schedule while keeping the other component of the schedule. Additionally, you can use the Cog icon next to the Favorite Schedule title to access the copy function. You can copy a Favorite Schedule into the Course Cart to facilitate the search for a replacement for the deleted course. Be aware that copying a Favorite Schedule into the Course Cart will erase all courses in the Cart. If you want to save any of these courses, it is recommended you write them down for reference. 

You may wish to preserve a course in your Favorite Schedule which is waitlisted for the purpose of adding yourself to the course’s waitlist during the enrollment process. Do not delete this course from your Favorite Schedule. Keep in mind that a waitlisted course does not count toward your semester hour enrollment and not having a replacement may mean you are not enrolled as a full-time student (12 s.h.+). 

The Cog also allows one to rename or delete a Favorite Schedule. 

Some departments will continue to add courses/sections and modify existing course/section meeting days/times after Schedule Builder opens, continuing into Early Registration. Schedule Builder and course browse will create schedules based on the course listings at that time. 

Enroll Using Schedule Builder

• Ability to enroll from a generated schedule or Favorite Schedule by clicking on the “Continue to Enroll” button. If enrolled from a generated schedule, Schedule Builder will automatically save your registration as a Favorite Schedule.

Seat Resolution Options

• Seat Resolution is a series of options you need to choose from after you click the Continue to Enroll button, BEFORE the enrollment process occurs. These options tell Schedule Builder how you wish to proceed. Schedule seat resolution options are required fields (at the time of enrollment) even for independent study.
• After you click Continue to Enroll, you will be taken to a new page which prompts you to decide about how you want to proceed.
  • All or nothing: Enrolls the student in the complete schedule if there is an open seat for each section.
  • Any available –  do not use waitlists: Enrolls the student in courses that have open seats and ignores courses that are full. A student is not added to the waitlist for closed courses with this option. This is the default selected that can be modified.
  • Any available – use waitlists:  Enrolls the student in courses with open seats and adds the student to the waitlist for any full sections with automated waitlists. Text notifications are automatically enabled. The student is programmatically added to the waitlist when this option is chosen.
• If a student chooses the option to use waitlists, they should click on the For more information on automated waitlists hyperlink for additional information on the waitlist process, such as how long waitlists are in effect and the notification process.
• If a student chooses the option to use waitlists, they should verify that they are still enrolled as a full-time student if this is an expectation of their financial aid, scholarships, and progress toward graduation.
• If a course is offered for multiple semester hours, a blue banner displays above the course to choose hours from drop-down box.
• After choosing a seat resolution option and reviewing the enrolled and not yet enrolled sections of the potential schedule, the student will need to click another Enroll button to officially enroll. 

Two-Step Enrollment Process

• Click the initial Continue to Enroll button from either a Generated or Favorite Schedule and then the Enroll button from the Seat Resolution Options page.
• Successful registrations or failed registrations messages display above the Seat Resolution Options.
• Once enrolled, prerequisite information appears at the top of the Courses/Registration page with a statement and a link to the prerequisite form.

Once enrolled, courses cannot be dropped or modified in Schedule Builder. Enrolled courses in your Course Cart are indicated with a gold box. If you hover over the gold box the following message will appear: "You are enrolled in this course and cannot edit it here."

You can also use the Course Search feature in Schedule Builder to find courses to add.  

Please visit the Registration Changes page for detailed information regarding drop deadlines, change of registration forms, and more.  

5 Ways to Reduce Error Messages

1. Minimize the use of My Filters and Course Filters. Remove any filters that may not be necessary. Fewer filters will typically mean less chance of encountering error messages when attempting to build schedules and enroll.
2. Check to Ensure Course Restrictions are Met. Depending upon the course, students may automatically meet course restrictions based on their program of study. However, some courses require special permission from the department. If you know you wish to enroll in a course requiring special permission, seek that permission before your scheduled enrollment time.
3. Check to Ensure Prerequisites are Met. If prerequisites have not been met, students will need to fill out a Prerequisite Proof of Completion form before they are eligible to register. Until prerequisite special permission has been given, uncheck the Available to Me course filter.
4. Check Seat Availability. As your registration day/time approaches, review your Preferred Schedules. If courses/sections you have in your Preferred Schedule(s) no longer have open seats, consider choosing other open sections. Or, at the time of enrollment, if the course has a waitlist, you can choose to be added to the waitlist.
5. Check for Course Conflicts. Schedule Builder will display error messages if you attempt to build schedules for courses meeting at the same time. Check to ensure courses with few course sections don't have conflicting class times. 

If you have questions about choosing appropriate courses or using the Schedule Builder tool, please contact your advisor. Your advisor can be found on MyUI under the Student Information tab on the Programs of Study & Advisor page. 

Please keep in mind you will not have the opportunity to enroll until your registration day/time assignment occurs.  In addition, any registration holds in place will need to be resolved before you will be able to enroll. 

If your registration day/time has not yet occurred, and/or there are registration holds in place, you will see the following message in Schedule Builder: Our records show that you may not register for the upcoming session. Please visit the Registration Dashboard for more information.  

When you're ready to enroll using Schedule Builder, you must review Seat Resolution Options. There are two options regarding waitlists: to only enroll in courses that do not have waitlists, or to enroll in courses with open seats AND add yourself to waitlists for courses that are full.  

If you choose the option to use waitlists, Schedule Builder will automatically add you to the waitlist for the course. You should click on the “For more information on automated waitlists” hyperlink for additional information on the waitlist process, such as how long waitlists are in effect and the notification process.

The following example shows the enrollment outcome for a student who chose the Seat Resolution Option "Any Available - use waitlists." A blue alert box appears notifying the student they were added to the waitlist for RHET:3130:0001. The blue text below the seat resolution options instructs the student to click for more information on automated waitlists. The schedule shows the student was successfully enrolled in RHET:1030:0039 and was put on the waitlist for RHET:3130:0001. 

Visit the Waitlists page on the Office of the Registrar's website for more information.  

The filter choices you make in Schedule Builder will determine what courses are returned as options. For non-orientation students, within My Filters, deselecting the "Available to Me" option will return courses that are full, have prerequisites you haven't met, and/or have course restrictions. You can also override the "Available to Me" filter at the course level.

After adding courses requiring prerequisites to your Course Cart, you will see a red "Missing Prerequisites" alert under the Course Title.

Clicking that alert will tell you what the pre-requisites are and your next steps in submitting a “Prerequisite Permission to Enroll” form, which needs to be processed before Schedule Builder will create schedules for you. The form requires the enrollment session, course number, and the reason you require permission to take that course. Once the form been processed, if you do meet the prerequisites through current or previous coursework, you will be able to create schedules with that course included.

Visit the Prerequisite Information page on the Office of the Registrar's website for more detailed information about prerequisites.  

Some courses have a variety of restrictions that might require a student to obtain special permission from a department. To view courses requiring special permission for which you have not yet been granted, either uncheck the "Available to Me" filter in My Filters or use the "Override Available to Me" Course Filter.  Either of those choices will allow a student to build schedules without having special permission granted.  

Before Early Registration, you should reach out to the department to see if special permission will be granted for you. The department may administratively grant permission, or they may give you a special permission code.  

When you are ready to enroll, you will then be prompted to enter the special permission code you were given.