Will Your Class Plan Lead to Registration Issues?

Shopping Carts Don't Check for Potential Registration Issues

This page covers topics that you should check when planning classes so there are no surprises when you try to enroll after your registration date! More information on each topic follows.

  • Do you meet computer-enforced prerequisites (and the evidence is on your degree evaluation)?

  • Did you meet PSY prep by taking an equivalent course (e.g., stats lecture + PSY 281 instead of PSY 280)?

  • Do your planned classes overlap in days/times?

  • Are you eligible to retake a class (if applicable)?

  • Are you trying to enroll in too many units?

  • Did you select only San Diego Campus location classes?

  • Do you have any Registration Holds (a) to take certain classes or (b) that will prevent you from registering in general?

 

Computer-Enforced Prerequisites

Enrolling During Early Registration (April or November, until the end of applicable semester)

During this period, you can register for future classes that have computer-enforced prereqs only if you have completed or are currently in-progress with the prerequisites at SDSU. Keep in mind:

  • All PSY classes have computer-enforced prerequisites. 
  • GWAR classes have computer-enforced prerequisites including junior status. If you will have earned 60 or more units by the end of the current term, you can register for a GWAR class for Fall.

If you are currently enrolled in a prerequisite at another institution, you will not be able to register for the future class until you have evidence of your final grade in the prereq. At that point, send proof of grade (unofficial transcript or screenshot of grade in learning management system) to psychology.advising.sdsu@sdsu.edu along with the (1) specific future course and (2) section of the course that you wish to enroll in. We can file an override to have you manually enrolled before your transcripts for the prerequisite class(es) are received.

When computer-enforced prereqs are checked. Unfortunately, it is not always clear in my.sdsu which requirements are computer-enforced, department-enforced or instructor-enforced. Computer-enforced prereqs are checked during early registration (that you are at least IP with prereq) and again at the end of the term (to make sure you successfully completed the prereq). If the prereq was not complete by that time, you will be dropped from the future course.

Department and Instructor Enforced Prereqs are checked on a different timeline from computer-enforced prereqs. Department-enforced requirements may be enforced at any time before the add/drop deadline. Instructor-enforced requirements are reviewed by the instructor prior to courses beginning (e.g., requested proof through Canvas or email) or when classes begin (show proof electronically or by a paper copy). 

 

Enrolling During "Regular" Registration (Over Summer or Winter Break until the add/drop deadline for the next semester)

Computer-enforced prerequisites are checked when students actually attempt to enroll (not when a course is placed in the shopping cart). 

 

Prerequisite Registration Glitches — require registration exception memo

Taking a prep course equivalent at SDSU or elsewhere can satisfy prep for the major requirements but will sometimes not be recognized as meeting computer-enforced prereqs in my.SDSU and yield a message that prerequisites were not met when a student tries to enroll. 

  • PSY 260: If took BIOL 203 instead of BIOL 100, system will not recognize that met prereq. 
  • PSY 281: If students have Credit via AP Statistics, because minimum grade of C required.
  • PSY 301, 410 or 407:
    • In some cases, even if you took a course that shows as equivalent to PSY 280 on degree evaluation, registration system may not recognize that met prereq.
  • PSY 331, 332, 333: If took CFD 270 instead of PSY 230, system will not recognize that met prereq.
  • PSY 407: If took stats lecture + PSY 281 (in lieu of PSY 280), system will not recognize that met prereq.

 

How to address a glitch:

Our office can submit a registration exception memo to the Registrar's Office for you if you meet the prereqs but the system is blocking your enrollment. Note that we cannot file a memo if you are in-progress with a prerequisite at another institution.

Email our office (psychology.advising.sdsu@sdsu.edu) to request a registration exception memo. Please read through the following before emailing us:

  • We cannot file a memo before your registration date/time, thus please email on the day of your registration or later. 
  • Make sure that the requested class will not put you over 18 units because the Registrar will not process the request if it does.
  • Select multiple sections of a class (that each do not conflict with rest of schedule) or be willing to go on a waitlist if only select 1 section and it is full.
  • Your other classes are set, or if in flux, ensure that there are no day/time conflicts between requested class and any other enrolled/planned/waitlisted classes. 

The Process: If your registration date and time has already passed, we will file your request ASAP if approved. If your registration date is upcoming, we will file the memo as soon after your registration time as we can. In either case, there is some lag in the time it will take the Registrar’s Office to process the request. It can take anywhere from a few hours after filing to 2 or 3 days. When the Registrar has processed your request, they will enroll you (or waitlist you, if the section is full) and email you to let you know.

 

GE Explorations & GWAR Timing

If you take a GE Explorations or a GWAR course before the semester in which you will complete 60 units, then the course will not satisfy the relevant requirement, no exceptions. This is not technically computer-enforced, but you should check that you will meet the unit "prereq" so you do not take a course too early. For example, if you will earn 56 units by the end of Fall 2024 and you will take (and successfully complete) 4 or more units in Spring 2025, then you could take a GE Explorations or GWAR course in Spring and have it count toward the Explorations requirement.

That said, we encourage students to give themselves a cushion and plan to complete one of these requirements in a semester in which they will complete 63 or more units, just in case they are not successful in one class so they can still be above the 60 unit mark.

Day/Time Class Conflicts

You are not able to register for courses that overlap at all in the times they are offered. That includes if a class is listed in the class schedule as meeting 3 days a week but then you find out 1 day per week is actually online and asynchronous so you want to add a different class for that day/time in its place. There is no way around this—you must choose classes that the class schedule lists as non-overlapping.

 

Retaking a Course

You are not eligible to register to retake a course that you are currently in progress  with at SDSU.

You are able to register to take a course for a 2nd time only if you earned a C- or lower (or NC, WU, W) the first time. See this page for more information on course forgiveness and repeat policies. 

If you need to retake a course for the 3rd time at SDSU or if you are in a Psychology Emphasis and need to retake a course to earn a B after previously earning a C, C+ or B-, then read information on how to request a Course Repeat Petition be filed.

Note: Although there are sometimes system glitches that allow students to register to retake a course when they are not actually eligible to do so, be aware that students will eventually be dropped, when the glitch is addressed. This past semester, students were not dropped until the weekend before classes started! Save yourself a headache, and drop any classes like this now when you have more time to reset your schedule!

 

Maximum Units for Registration

You can only enroll in up to 18 units Links to an external site. until one week before the new term's classes begin, when the maximum is increased to 21 units.

Although these are the maximums, they are not the encouraged load of units to take. We have unfortunately seen students overload themselves and end up not succeeding in most/all of their classes...

A typical load is between 12 and 15 units per fall/spring term. Taking 15 units per fall/spring (and no courses over break) is usually enough to complete degree requirements in 4 years.

 

San Diego Campus Only

SDSU students are only allowed to take courses offered by the San Diego campus. Click to filter to San Diego campus anytime you search for courses to avoid planning for a class that you cannot take.

 

Registration Holds

There are several types of registration holds and the procedures to remove them differs by type. In my.SDSU, Ss can check the Tasks tile for holds. Clicking on the hold will show information on how to resolve the issue and who to contact, if needed.

The link below also takes you to a guide that provides contact info and steps to address each type of hold.

Contact Info & Procedures to Address Different Holds Links to an external site.