By: Madi Wimmer
With spring registration underway, many Concordia students are navigating full classes, prerequisite errors, and uncertainty about academic overrides. The situation has led to frustration for both students and faculty, due partly to widespread misunderstandings about how the registration and override processes work.
An academic override is a special permission allowing a student to enroll in a class despite certain registration barriers. These barriers can include full classes, missing prerequisites, or restrictions based on a student’s major or year.
Most overrides are handled directly by the instructor, though the Registrar’s Office manages some specific cases, such as required First-Year Seminars. Overrides are not guaranteed, so students are encouraged to have backup plans in case their request is denied.
When students need an override, their first step should be contacting the professor who teaches the course. The professor may place them on a waitlist or grant the override directly. If neither is possible, students should reach out to their academic adviser for help identifying alternative courses or options that still support their academic plan.
“Most overrides come from instructors, rarely from the registrar,” said Angela Boser, assistant to student services. She added that students should read error messages carefully, as they often indicate whether the issue is a missing prerequisite, degree restriction, or class capacity limit.
Dawn Current, assistant registrar of academic services, echoed the importance of understanding the process.
“Our goal as a facility is to make sure all students have access while maintaining a good learning environment,” Current said.
Experiences with overrides vary across departments, and the Education Department handles a particularly high volume due to strict GPA requirements, prerequisites, and the recent rollout of a new curriculum.
“If there is a high likelihood of students having to struggle in a course, we will have to deny the request,” said Teri Langlie, Education Department chair.
Capacity limits are another reason some override requests are not approved. These limits reflect room size, safety regulations, lab equipment availability, or the structure of a course that relies on hands-on learning.
Faculty sometimes begin with lower caps and raise them gradually to allow classes to fill evenly. In some cases, if demand is high, the Registrar’s Office may move a class to a larger room, depending on the equipment required.
Faculty also make the final decision on capacity-related overrides. “Capacity overrides would be just that, lack of capacity,” Langlie said.
“Some classes, like labs or studio art courses, can’t exceed a certain number of students because of space and learning quality,” Current said. “Our goal is to make sure all students have access while maintaining a good learning environment.”
Misinformation is another challenge. Many students rely on advice from peers rather than consulting their adviser or the professor of the course they want to enter.
“The patterns in misunderstandings tend to be when students listen to each other rather than discussing overrides with the professor or adviser,” Langlie said.
To navigate registration successfully, students should monitor class availability during the first week, as spots can open unexpectedly. Planning multiple backup courses in advance helps prevent scheduling issues if an override request is denied. Students should also reach out to advisers for support and develop a plan in case neither their override nor backup options work out.
Langlie emphasized the importance of communication.
“Communication! Please communicate with advisers and professors,” she said.
Even when a class fills, it is often still possible to take it later. “In many cases, students who can’t get into a class at first are still able to take it later, either through a waitlist, a schedule change, or an additional section opening,” Current said.
Missing out on a course initially is not the end of the road. Students are encouraged to stay patient, maintain contact with instructors, and keep backup plans, trusting that opportunities often arise as registration progresses.
