How to register for courses at UBCO

To register for a course, you must first be admitted to UBC. If you are not yet admitted, refer to our resources for prospective students.

On this page

• What to do before you register
• Plan your courses
• Build your saved schedule
• Register your courses
• Common registration issues
• Additional resources
• Frequently asked questions

What to do before you register

Find out when you can register

The general registration dates for each academic session are posted online and organized by year level, or Class Standing.

• Don’t know what year level you are? You can view your Class Standing under the Summary tab in your Workday student profile. To view your profile, click your user icon in the top right corner and then select the “View Profile” button.

Each student is assigned a unique registration appointment, which is the earliest date and time you can start to register.

• Learn more: How do I find my registration appointment time?

Changes to your academic record can impact your registration date and time. If you are expecting changes to your academic record to be made, check Workday periodically for any updates to your registration appointment.

It is recommended that all students check Workday daily during the week leading up to their registration open date for any updates.

You will be able to register and make changes to your courses anytime between your registration start time and the add/drop (course change) deadline, unless otherwise indicated directly in the course section details in Workday.

• Courses can fill up quickly, so you should plan to register as soon as you can.
• Note that there are different add/drop deadlines for Term 1, Term 2, and full-year courses.

Resolve any holds that may prevent you from registering

Check and resolve any financial or academic holds before your registration appointment to avoid any issues registering in courses.

• If you are required to pay a registration deposit, you will see your deposit in Workday under the Finances app once your registration date has been released. You will need to pay it before your registration date. It may take a day or two for your payment to be processed, depending on how you paid.

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Plan your courses

Check your program requirements

You can find degree requirements and specific requirements for each program in the Academic Calendar. Graduate students should consult with their supervisor before registering courses.

How to choose what courses to take

View the tips below to help with course planning:

• Refer to the First-Year Planning Guide for your degree if you are selecting courses for your first year of an undergraduate program.
• Refer to the Program Plan for your degree for support navigating your UBC Okanagan undergraduate experience at all stages.
  • Use this resource to learn about future opportunities you may want to participate in, such as Co-op or Go Global, that may impact your course selection.
• Review your program requirements in the Academic Progress Report (APR) and consider how and when you can fill any major, minor, concentration, or specialization course requirements.
  • You can also view your degree progress by downloading your unofficial transcript.
• If you have Transfer Credits, it’s important to know how they apply toward your degree and which specific requirements they may fulfill.
  • If you’re unsure, an Academic & Career Advisor can help you understand how your credits fit into your program.

View the course schedule

Learn how to view the course schedule in Workday.

• Pay attention to the course section details, which include the start and end date for each course, course section notes, the format of the course activity, and the course modes of delivery.

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Build your saved schedule

In Workday, your “saved schedule” is your personal draft timetable in Workday where you can plan out your classes for the upcoming academic session.

You can choose the courses you want, arrange them into a timetable that fits your schedule, and then register the saved schedule all at once when it’s time to sign up for classes.

• Learn how to create a saved schedule in Workday and how to find course conflicts in your saved schedule.

For the Winter Session, you must create a saved schedule for each term separately. 6-credit courses that span Term 1 and Term 2 will only appear in the Term 1 schedule. If you register in one of these courses, be mindful of course conflicts in Term 2.

Tips for building saved schedules:

• All courses finish 10 minutes before the time listed in the course schedule, so you will have time to get to your next class even if you schedule courses back-to-back.
• You can create multiple saved schedules, in case one or more of the courses on your first saved schedule are full.
  • You can add lectures, standard timetables, and other course components to existing saved schedules.
• Course sections scheduled in the middle of the day and week are often in high demand and may fill up quickly.
  • Consider building schedule options that include course sections outside of these peak times — for example, early morning or evening, or on Mondays or Fridays — to offer more flexibility.

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Register your courses

In Workday, you can register a saved schedule for the term or register an individual course. You should register for both your Term 1 and Term 2 courses at the time of your registration appointment.

Always use a desktop or laptop computer when registering courses. The registration tool is not supported on mobile devices.

What to do if a course is full

It’s common for some courses to fill up, particularly high-demand courses required by the program. Follow the tips below if your course is full.

• Some course sections have waitlists. Learn how to get on the waitlist for a course in Workday or add a course waitlist to your saved schedule.
  • Learn more: How do waitlists work at UBCO?
• When a course is full and does not have available waitlist seats it will have a status of ‘closed’.
• Check the course schedule regularly — seats often become available later in the registration period as other students make adjustments to their schedules or new course sections are added.
• If you’re in your last year of study and need this course to graduate, contact your faculty or department to check if they can arrange to have you enrolled in the required course.
• Note that academic advisors cannot add students to full courses.

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Common registration issues

If you’re having trouble registering, you can troubleshoot your course registration in Workday.

There are several reasons you may be unable to register a course. Review our frequently asked questions for information about:

• Reserved seats
• Prerequisites
• Issues with registering in multiple course activities
• Other common registration questions and concerns

If you meet the prerequisites and co-requisites for a course that has open seats available but you are still unable to register, contact the department that delivers the course.

If you require further assistance, contact Academic & Career Advising.

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Additional resources

Review all our Workday registration tutorials here.

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Frequently asked questions

• What does my registration appointment end date mean in Workday?
• How do waitlists work at UBCO?
• What does it mean if a course has a seat capacity of 0?
• What are reserved seats in a course?
• How do I drop a course?
• I’m registered in a lecture but I can’t get into a lab. What do I do?
• I don’t meet the prerequisites for a course I want to take. What do I do?

What does my registration appointment end date/time mean in Workday?

Your Workday account may show both a registration appointment start time and end time. While the start time indicates the start of your own registration period, the end time simply refers to the period when general enrolment begins and has no relevance to your own registration timeline.

You will be able to register any time between your registration start time and the add/drop (course change) deadline unless otherwise indicated directly in the course section details in Workday.

• Learn more about viewing your registration appointment.

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How do waitlists work at UBCO?

The waitlist process varies depending on which department is offering the course.

If you are on a waitlist for a course, you will receive an email invitation to register if a seat becomes available to you.

In most cases, you will only have 24 hours to accept the seat before it goes to the next student on the waitlist. Make sure to monitor your email frequently and ensure your email address is correct in Workday.

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What does it mean if a course has a seat capacity of 0?

If a course has a waitlist, it generally applies only to the graded course activity (typically the lecture). When a waitlist is active, non-graded activities like labs will show zero available seats.

To register from the waitlist in Workday, all required activities must have open seats and fit your schedule. If only some course activities have seats or there are schedule conflicts, you can contact the department offering the course for assistance.

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What are reserved seats in a course?

Some seats in courses may be reserved for a variety of reasons, such as to hold them for students in particular programs or year levels. Many courses have a combination of both reserved seats and unreserved seats.

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How do I drop or withdraw from a course?

You can drop a course anytime before the add/drop date without financial penalty or any notation on your transcript.

After the add/drop date, you can withdraw from courses for a period of time and receive a “W” standing on your transcript. A ‘W’ does not get calculated into your overall GPA or sessional evaluation.

• Depending on your withdrawal date you may be eligible for a partial refund. If your withdrawal date is after refund dates, you will not receive any refund of tuition fees.

See our step-by-step Workday tutorials for dropping and withdrawing from courses.

• Learn more about W standing and withdrawing from courses.

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I’m registered in a lecture but I can’t get into a lab. What do I do?

If you have a seat in the lecture activity of a course but the lab sections are all full, check the course schedule regularly for a lab seat to become available.

Seats become available if another student drops the course or the Faculty opens additional lab sections. If you’re concerned about being unable to register a lab, contact the relevant department for assistance.

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I don’t meet the prerequisites for a course I want to take. What do I do?

To register for a course, you must meet all prerequisites.

Prerequisites have been put in place by your faculty to ensure you have what you need to be successful in the course. If you feel strongly that you can be successful without the prerequisite, you can submit a ‘prerequisite waiver’ to your Faculty.

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