Current Students: Registration and Overrides

An enforced prerequisite is a class that you are required to take in preparation for the class you are trying to register for.  Enforced prerequisites are in the Registration Restrictions section of the class information.  For example, if you did not take all your general biology classes at OSU, you will not be able to register for this class without a prerequisite override. You will need an override if any if of your accepted Biology majors-level classes are BI LDT or BI LD2, even you took the other two here.  See image below for example restrictions.

fwcs_prereq_screenshot.png

Steps to Getting a Prerequisite Override.

1. Check the Registration Restrictions Section for your class in the Schedule of Classes. 
2. If you are not sure you meet the prerequisite requirement, you should add the class to your primary cart (see instructions here). You will see this error if you do not have the prerequisite class: 
   

   prereq_error_fwcs.png

   

3. Consult with your academic advisor to ensure your class(es) meet the requirement and make sure that they verified that your transfer majors-level biology series is equivalent to the OSU biology series.
   
   Note: For classes that are co-requisites and can be taken together, such as FW 321 and FW 488, you must register for FW 321 first before FW 488 or you will receive this error. If you are currently taking the prerequisite class, you will also be allowed to register for the next class (e.g., you can register for MTH 241 for the next term if you are registered for MTH 111z in the current term). 

   If you are a guest or non-degree seeking student, see the section below.

4. If you have met the prerequisite with an approved transfer class, complete the FWCS Override Request Form, which is the last link on this page. Make sure to check for other errors associated with the class (e.g., campus restriction), before completing the form.

Non-degree seeking or Guest Students

Only BA/BS degree seeking students working towards their first OSU degrees generally have transfer classes in MyDegrees. If your prerequisite class is not in MyDegrees, include an unofficial transcript with your override request. We cannot grant prerequisite overrides without evidence of your prerequisite class(es).

A SAPR-Department Approval override is only granted when the student has permission from the instructor to register for the class. FW 209 and 307 and both internship classes, FW 410, have these restrictions and you must receive permission from your academic advisor to register for FW 209 or FW 307. Requests to register for FW 410 must be submitted to the Internship Coordinator after you review the Steps to Complete Your FWCS Internship on this page.

See What to Know about Registering for a Class in Week 2 and Later for Week 2 adds.  

If you are not an FW or FWCS major, you will not be able to register for all FW classes. Classes with this restriction are required for students in the Bachelor of Science program (not minor) and have limited availability. All professional development classes (FW 107, 209 and 307), FW 435 and FW 439, FW 255 (on the Corvallis campus), FW 289, and specialty classes with low enrollment caps (e.g. FW 115 and FW 458) have this restriction.  While these classes can be part of options for related majors, they are only required for FW and FWCS majors.

If you receive the following error "Enrollment is limited to students with a major in Fish, Wildlife & Conserv Scien (018) or Fisheries & Wildlife Sciences (733)", check the class notes. If the restriction expires in Phase 2, you will be able to register for or waitlist the class during your Phase 2 registration time. If the restriction does not expire, the class will not be available for registration. Work with your academic advisor to plan for an alternative class to meet your option requirement.

Related Majors who require an FW class to Graduate. If you receive this error and your academic advisor has determined you need the class to graduate within in the current term, please ask them to contact fw.advising@oregonstate.edu to request the override. We will not provide overrides without contact from your academic advisor.

I am an FW/FWCS major Who cannot register for a Non-FW Class.

If you receive a prerequisite error while attempting to register for a non-FW class (e.g., BI 370, or ANS 311), you must contact their department directly for a prerequisite override. We cannot provide overrides for non-FW classes. 

Make sure that you have met the prerequisite requirement. If you are unsure, consult with your academic advisor before contacting the department. The appropriate contact information or override form will be in the Department Contact(s) section at the bottom of the Schedule of Classes. See the example for BI 370 below. 

fwcs_non-fwcs class.png

Other departments must major-restrict some classes for the same reason that we do: to make sure that their students can access required classes. It is critical that you plan classes carefully and consult with your academic advisor about non-FW major-restricted classes. Online Botany classes are often restricted during Phase 1 (but may be restricted in Phase 2 also). If you need one of these classes and you are close to graduating, work with your academic advisor to request overrides into Botany classes. We cannot grant overrides into these classes, but we can facilitate an override if you are graduating within 1-2 terms. Therefore, make sure you have communicated about a restricted botany class in your graduation term to your FWCS Advisor so we can make a MyDegrees note for you. Make sure to do this before submitting the new Botany override form here: BOT course override requests 

Spring 2025 Ecampus sections

FW classes that are offered both on campus and through Ecampus are campus restricted during Phase 1. Wait until Phase 2 to register for or waitlist the class. If you experience a time conflict because two classes you need are offered at the same time, you may be granted an override for the FW Ecampus section. Complete the FWCS Override form and explain the reason for the error. 

Fall 2025 and Later Ecampus sections

Starting in Fall 2025 all Ecampus classes will be restricted to Ecampus students during Phase I registration (that is, students who campus is listed as Dist. Degree Corvallis Student in MyDegrees). The department cannot override this requirement and the restriction will be lifted for most Ecampus classes during Phase 2.   

Several FW classes that our students need are only offered online and we will work with you on how to register for these classes under the following conditions: 

1. You are within three (3) terms of graduating and the class has limited availability during those terms and is not available on the Corvallis campus. 
2. You have a complete and accurate graduation plan in your MyDegrees Planner that shows which terms you need the Ecampus class(es). 
3. You have consulted your academic advisor who confirms that you will need the class(es) in the specified term.   

The department cannot provide the campus override, but we will be formally submitting your requests to the college. Therefore, it is critical that you plan your last few terms carefully and provide enough time for us to secure the necessary override.  

Your advisor can also help you decide on whether changing your campus to Ecampus is beneficial. There are many considerations, but one of the most important will be whether you are receiving a Corvallis-campus university scholarship or other campus-dependent aid.  Examples of these scholarships include, but are not limited to, the Finley, WUE and Provost Scholarships. You cannot change your campus and receive these scholarships.  

Contact the Scholarship Office with specific questions about your scholarship(s) as we do not have access to this information. All other financial aid questions should be directed to the Financial Aid Office. 

If a class is full and there is an active waitlist, you will receive the following error message: Open – Reserved for Wait List. The waitlist is only active during Phase 2. If you receive this message before your Phase 2 registration time, you cannot register.  Add yourself to the waitlist during Phase 2.  

Do not ask for a capacity override for the class instead of going through the waitlist because we do not provide overrides for classes with waitlists.  Classes that do not have a waitlist will show a waitlist capacity of 0. 

For classes without waitlists, capacity overrides are generally not granted unless the class is needed during an FWCS student’s graduation term and the student has instructor permission to add the class. Consult your academic advisor for assistance with capacity overrides if this applies to you.  

There are two registration times listed in Beaver Hub (instructions on how to see these below): 

Phase 1 is the first date that you will be able to register for classes, and up to 16 credits. You are not allowed to register for more than 16 credits during Phase 1 and this cannot be overridden by your advisor. Therefore, prioritize the most important classes you need and register for those classes first. Waitlisting is not allowed during Phase 1. 

Phase 2 is the second date and time in Beaver Hub. This is the time you will be able to waitlist classes that have a Waitlist Capacity >0 and you can register for up to 19 credits. 

If you attempt to register outside of Phase 1 or Phase 2 registration period, you will encounter a Time Ticket error.  There are no exceptions to your assigned registration time. 

How to Check Your Phase 1 and 2 registration Time

Time conflict errors only occur when two Corvallis-campus classes are offered at the same time. You cannot register for two classes if their meeting times overlap, even once, during the term.  

The most common time conflict error where we can provide an override is when a class or FW 410 conference has a meeting time or field trip that occurs once in the term. To receive a time conflict override, you must first contact the instructor of the class you miss by attending the conference or field trip and get their written permission to miss that day of class, forward the approval email to fw.advising@oregonstate.edu from your OSU email account and include your OSU ID with no spaces or hyphens. We will not provide an override without this email. 

For class times that conflict more than once per term (e.g., the last 20 minutes of one class conflicts with the start of another class), you need to receive permission from the instructors of both classes to receive the time conflict override. We can only provide the override for a class offered by the FWCS department. If neither class is offered by this department, you will need to seek the override from the department offering the class after getting the instructors’ permission.  

If a class has a waitlist, the waitlist capacity will be >0. If there is space on the waitlist, you will see Waitlist Avail >0. Example below: 

Waitlist Capacity: 5
Waitlist Count: 3
Waitlist Avail: 2  

Classes that do not have a waitlist will show a waitlist capacity of 0. 

It is always worth your while to waitlist a class.  Once you get on the waitlist, you must check your email once per day to see if a spot is available. If you do not register within 24 hours of the Registrar sending the notification, you will be removed from the waitlist and your spot will be offered to the next person. Here are the instructions for waitlisting classes.

See the next section to understand why you cannot register for a class even if there appears to be space.  

Assuming that you are not receiving any other error, you may still not be able to register for an open spot during Phase 2. This because if there is anyone on the waitlist, the spot is being offered to a waitlisted student. Please check this before asking your advisor why you cannot register for a class that has an opening.

This is also why you should always waitlist classes if you have that option.  

Example from the Schedule of Classes During Phase 2 Registration Period: 

Status: Open  

Max Enrollment: 40  

Enrollment: 39  

Seats Avail: 1 ← Not available, there are 3 people on the waitlist  

Waitlist Capacity: 5  

Waitlist Count: 3 ← the open spot is being offered to the first person on the waitlist. If that person does not take the spot within 24 hours, the spot will be offered to the second person, etc.  

Waitlist Avail: 2 ← Get on the waitlist if possible (up to 3 classes or sections can be waitlisted)  

Students are allowed to register for up to 19 credits per term. This is a heavy load in the quarter system and we generally do not recommend registering for more than 17 credits.  

If you have a compelling reason to register for up to 22 credits, you need to complete an extra credits petition. Before submitting petition: 

1. You must have successfully completed full-time classes (at least 15 credits) the previous term with a GPA of 3.0 or higher.  
2. You have consulted your academic advisor about your planned classes. They will provide valuable insights into the workload associated with major classes.  
3. If your advisor agrees that taking more than 19 credits is appropriate, then submit an Undergraduate Extra Credits Petition. The College Head Advisor, not the department head advisor, will approve or deny the petition based on your previous academic performance and your academic advisor’s recommendation.  

Students can add a class without instructor approval up to the end of Week 1 each term (for full term, 11-week classes – See Academic Calendar for Non-traditional Class Deadlines). During Week 2, you will receive a SAPR -Department Approval error when registering and must receive instructor approval to add a class. This is to make sure that a student does not add a class that they are already behind in without the opportunity to drop. This is important. If you add a class after Week 1 and then choose to drop it, you will receive a W on your transcript and owe 50% tuition on the class, so pursue this option carefully. The decision to allow a late add is at the discretion of the instructor. 

If you receive instructor permission to register, forward the approval email to fw.advising@oregonstate.edu from your OSU email account and include your OSU ID with no spaces or hyphens. If additional overrides are required for the class (e.g., a prerequisite override), include that information in your email. 

Adding a Class After Week 2

Adds after Week 2 (or earlier depending on the length of the class) require a university petition. These petitions are often not successful because by the end of Week 2 it may be very difficult or impossible to complete the class successfully.  Before initiating a late petition to add, talk to both your academic advisor and contact the instructor.  Instructors never approve these requests unless they have talked to the student about whether they can complete the class with a passing grade. 

After identifying the registration error on this page or the Office of Registrar’s Common Registration Errors page, you can submit the FWCS Override Request Form. It is important to get as much information about the reason you are getting the error before submitting this form.  Complete and accurate requests will be processed within two business days. 

Do NOT use this form to get overrides into classes from other departments (e.g. BI 370, ANS 311, etc.). You can find contact information for other departments in the Schedule of Classes.   

FWCS Override Request Form