This page contains information related to Waitlists in MyUI.

Waitlist Change Statement

Waitlist changes have been put into place to provide students an opportunity to enroll in needed sections earlier by keeping waitlists shorter and more efficient. Those changes are outlined in the “Waitlist Change Details”, and are included in the information starting with “Joining a Waitlist” below. 

Waitlist Change Details

The Process:

  • If you are on more than one waitlist for a course in the same session and:
    • after being notified of seat availability you accept the seat and accept the offer, you are then removed from any other requested waitlisted sections of the course.  
    • have two pending offers at the same time for different sections and you accept the seat and offer for one, the other pending offer remains until it expires (unless you decline it) and you are removed from other requested waitlisted sections of the course. 
    • decline the seat, you remain on other requested waitlisted sections of the course.

Removal from other waitlisted sections of the same course occurs in the same session, regardless of: 

  • lecture, discussion, and/or lab combinations (related sections)
  • sections with different subtitles/topics 
  • Summer sub-sessions 

If you are only on one waitlist for a course in the same session, there were no changes implemented. 

Joining a Waitlist

If a section has closed with full enrollment and if the department has selected the waitlist option then there will be an option to "Join Waitlist."

Registration Information

Waitlists are only in effect as long as you can perform registration activity within MyUI for a given session. This includes both the offering and accepting of seats. For most courses (session long courses), this means the waitlist is in effect through the fifth business day after classes start. For off-cycle courses, the waitlist remains in effect through the day before the course starts. After this point, waitlists will no longer be used for filling seats that open up in a given course; you will follow the Change in Registration process.

Notification Information

Once a seat becomes available you will be notified of the offer.

  • After this first notification you will either have 24 hours or until MyUI registration closes to accept the offer.
  • You will receive additional notifications when you have 12 hours left and when you have 6 hours left.

If you fail to respond within those 24 hours your offer will be revoked and you will be removed from the waitlist. You will remain on other waitlists if you’ve added yourself to more than one waitlist for the course. You will also be sent an additional notification to let you know that the deadline has passed and your offer has expired. If you would still like to be on the waitlist you may then rejoin the list, but will be placed at the end of the list.

  • You will automatically receive notifications through MyUI and by your official University of Iowa email address if and when a seat becomes available.
  • If you would like to also receive text messages, you may indicate below. Currently only cell carriers in the U.S. are supported. SMS rates may apply.

Note: Choosing to receive text messages here does not mean anyone can text this number. It will only apply to this specific waitlist. Not all carriers allow waitlist notifications to be delivered. Please do not rely solely on text message notifications. 

Leaving a Waitlist

Once on a waitlist there will be an option to leave the waitlist from the Courses/Registration page.

  • Choose Leave Waitlist and then a pop-up window will ask "Are you sure you want to leave the waitlist" to confirm the option or cancel.
  • There will be a confirmation notification stating "You were successfully removed from the waitlist for SUBJ:CRSE:SECT".

Removal From a Waitlist

  • If you are on more than one waitlist for a course in the same session and:
    • after being notified of seat availability you accept the seat and accept the offer, you are then removed from any other requested waitlisted sections of the course.  
    • have two pending offers at the same time for different sections and you accept the seat and offer for one, the other pending offer remains until it expires (unless you decline it) and you are removed from other requested waitlisted sections of the course. 
    • decline the seat, you remain on other requested waitlisted sections of the course.

Removal from other waitlisted sections of the same course occurs in the same session, regardless of: 

  • lecture, discussion, and/or lab combinations (related sections)
  • sections with different subtitles/topics 
  • Summer sub-sessions 

Accepting Seat in a Section

If a seat opens in a section and if you are first on the waitlist then you will be sent a notification via MyUI and official University of Iowa email account (as well as text message if opted in) to accept the seat.  Receiving a waitlist notification is not the same as accepting the seat.

  • You must accept the seat from the MyUI Student Portal and it is a two step process.
  • Once the Accept Seat link is clicked you will be taken to a summary page which will display your schedule based upon accepting the seat.
  • If you’re on more than one waitlist for the course for which you received the offer, you will see a warning message notifying you that you will be removed from all other waitlists for the course if you accept the offer. 
  • After viewing the proposed schedule, you must then click the Accept Offer to have the section added to your schedule. If the schedule is not to your liking you can Decline Offer from this page as well.
  • You will receive a confirmation pop-up and the section will be added to your schedule.
  • If you’re on more than one waitlist for the same course in which you’ve just accepted the offer, then you will receive a notification that you have been removed from other waitlists for the course. 

Declining Seat in a Section

If a seat opens in a section and if you are first on the waitlist then you will be sent a notification via MyUI and official University of Iowa email account (as well as text message if opted in) to accept the seat.  If you are no longer interested in the seat then you have the option to decline the seat at that time.

  • You must decline the seat from the MyUI Student Portal or take no action for 24 hours and the offer will automatically expire.
  • Once the Decline Seat link is clicked you will be taken to a summary page which will ask you to confirm your intent to decline the offer.
  • You will receive a confirmation pop-up that you have declined the offer and you will be removed from the waitlist.
  • If you decline the offer and you are on other waitlists for the same course, then you will remain on the other waitlists.