PAWS Waitlist Information for Administrators

This guide provides essential information regarding the waitlist functionality within PAWS, covering student rules, setup, operational details, and reporting. For more information, please contact:

Billy Peitz – Associate Director of Records, Reporting, and Enrollment (peitzw@tcnj.edu) OR Brittany Aydelotte – Assistant Provost (aydelot2@tcnj.edu)

 

Waitlist Setup and Management

Topic	Key Information	Notes for Departments
Waitlist Capacity	Each department controls the number of waitlist seats.	Consider course type, high turnover, and data needs when setting the waitlist capacity. Can be adjusted at any time.
Enrollment Type	Departments control whether to use Auto-Enroll or Manual Enroll.	Auto-Enroll runs on a schedule. Manual Enroll allows departments to select which student is added (e.g. prioritizing groups or requirement needs). Departments are encouraged to enable Auto-Enroll as it will keep classes closed when seats are unavailable.
Waitlist Duration	Waitlists are available beginning at registration and runs through July (Fall) and December (Spring). Waitlist purge will occur shortly thereafter.	N/A
Held/Reserved Seats	Waitlists work in conjunction with reserved seats.	Students not meeting the reserve requirement will be waitlisted if no non-reserved seats remain. They may be enrolled if a non-reserved seat opens up (or if reserved seat holds are changed).
Cross-Listed/Combined Courses	Two waitlists will exist if both sections are set up with waitlist capacity.	Can set one section to accept a waitlist and not another, but must set Waitlist Capacity on the Combined Section Table.
Reporting	Use the Waitlist Database report which can be found in the Class List folder (R:\RandRCampuswideInfo\Class List\Waitlist Database)	Additional details on the Waitlist Database can be found in the info tab within the report.

 

Waitlist Operations (Nuts and Bolts)

Operation	Details	Administrator Action
Waitlist Availability	Kicks in once a section is full.	N/A
Who Can View	Any PAWS user with access to view class rosters.	N/A
Adding a Student to Course from Waitlist	Use the Closed Class override (and any other required overrides). Not using the override will result in an error.	Quick Enroll
Manual Waitlist Addition	Used the Wait List Okay override to add a student to the waitlist. However, staff cannot add students to a waitlist if the waitlist is full.	Quick Enroll
Removing a Student from the Waitlist	Use the Drop function within Quick Enroll	Quick Enroll – Drop
Moving a Student from Course to Waitlist	Use the Drop to Waitlist function within Quick Enroll	Quick Enroll – Drop to Wait List
Change Waitlist Position	Use Change Wait List Position function to adjust order of students on waitlist	Quick Enroll – Change Wait List Position
Drop If Enroll	Students will use the Swap function and indicate which class will be dropped if a waitlisted class becomes available. For Administrators, use the Enroll function and then indicate which class to be dropped on the Other Class Info tab.	Quick Enroll – Enroll (in addition, select which class to drop on the Other Class Info tab; Admins do not use Swap for this)
Auto Enroll Frequency	Currently schedule to run on a weekly basis on Saturday	N/A

 

Student Rules and Functionality

Question	Answer
Waitlist Limit	Students can waitlist up to 4 units.
Multiple Sections	Students can waitlist multiple sections of the same course (each counts toward their total limit).
Course Requirements	Students cannot add themselves to the waitlist if they don’t meet course requirements. The same rules apply as for registration.
Enrolled/Waitlisted	Students can be enrolled in one section and waitlist another section of the same course using the Swap function.
Full Waitlist	Students cannot join a waitlist that is full.
Waitlist Position	Students will not see their position on the waitlist.
Full Course Load	Students should be encouraged to waitlist once they have a full course load. Then they should use the Swap function to determine which class will be dropped if a seat opens up on the waitlisted course.
Enrollment Removal	Enrolling in one section of a course will remove a student from all other waitlists for that same course.
Reordering Waitlist	Departments can move student positions on the waitlist.
Student Training	There is no formal training available, but there is a step-by-step guide available on the Records and Registration website: https://recreg.tcnj.edu/course-waitlists/

 

Waitlist Reporting and Data

Report/Tool	Description and Key Data Points	Update Frequency
PAWS Class Report (R:\RandRCampuswideInfo\Class List)	Includes columns for Waitlist Cap (Max), Waitlist Total (Current), and Auto-Enroll (Yes/No)	Refreshed daily with information as of the day before. For live data updates, always check PAWS
Waitlist Database (R:\RandRCampuswideInfo\Class List\Waitlist Database)	Detailed report for managing waitlists. Assesses course demand/need by showing Total Unduplicated Students on Waitlists for a course and Total Students (W – Not Enrolled), which excludes students already enrolled in a section of the course (thus showing the “true need”). The report also displays all students on waitlists, total enrolled units, and the “Drop If Enroll” class (if the student used the Swap function) for manual enrollments/swaps.	Refreshed daily with information as of the day before. For live data updates, always check PAWS

 

Communication Guidelines

Scenario	Recommended Action
General Student Communication	Records and Registration included information in registration notice. Students can also find more information here: https://recreg.tcnj.edu/course-waitlists/
Gathering More Information	If more information is needed to determine need, please feel free to contact the student. However, it is discouraged to create additional/shadow waitlists.
Students Unable to Join Waitlists	Communicate with students via your usual methods for special cases (e.g. due to full waitlist, not meeting requirements, etc.). You may also refer students to Records and Registration for more information.

 

Waitlist Process Flow (Auto-Enroll vs. Manual)

Scenario	Auto-Enroll Checked	Manual Enroll (Auto-Enroll Unchecked)
Seat Options During Registration	The section remains closed. The open seat is filled by the first eligible student on the waitlist (runs weekly on Saturday).	The section will remain closed while all seats are taken. Once a seat becomes available, the course will open and allow students to enroll, bypassing those on the waitlist.
Seats Open After Registration	The first student on the waitlist is added automatically (and removed from other waitlists for the same course).	See above. In addition, Departments will need to manually adjust the waitlist (i.e. moving students from waitlist to course as seats become available).
Waitlists Full Post-Registration	Assessment is done throughout and at the end of registration to review needs using waitlist data.	Assessment is done throughout and at the end of registration to review needs using waitlist data.