Preparing for course registration

UBC has switched to a new system called Workday for courses starting in September 2024. Check out our step-by-step tutorials for Winter 2024/25 registration and beyond.

UBC Okanagan offers a variety of courses to choose from. Make sure you have considered all factors before your registration date and time.

Choosing courses

When choosing your courses for your upcoming year of study, remember the following considerations:

Degree requirements

You do not need to complete your degree requirements within your first year but you do need to know what the requirements are and plan to meet them before graduation.

First-year requirements

Refer to the first-year planning guide specific to your degree program to help you select courses for your first year.

Major, minor, concentration, or specialization requirements

Explore the options within your selected program. If you are a first-year student, you won’t be required to declare a minor, major, concentration, or specialization before you register, but you still need to take the necessary first-year and second-year courses in preparation. Consult the UBC Okanagan Academic Calendar and declaring majors section for more information.

Winter Session

Winter Session runs from September to April and is divided into two terms.

Term 1 is from September to December.

Term 2 is from January to April.

Summer Session

Summer Session runs from May to August and is divided into two terms.

Term 1 is from May to June.

Term 2 is from July to August.

Credits per session

For the Winter Session, students in most UBC Okanagan programs can register in a maximum of 18 credits per term (six courses), or 36 credits for the entire session. This is a very heavy workload and is not recommended. If you are considering six courses in one term talk with an Academic & Career Advisor. Most students take 15 credits per term (five courses), or 30 credits for the entire session.

Many students also take fewer than five courses per term, allowing for time to work, enjoy leisure activities, or study. It’s up to you to decide on how many credits you take. Keep in mind that there is a minimum number of credits you need to be registered in to qualify for on-campus housing, student loans, and scholarships.

For the Summer Session, students in most UBC Okanagan programs can take a maximum of 12 credits (four courses). You are not required to take any credits during the summer.

Registration tips & tricks

Dropping courses

Be aware of drop/withdrawal deadlines – drop courses as soon as you know you do not want to take them. Your fellow students are waiting for the chance to grab an open seat. The first drop deadline allows you to drop without financial penalty or any notation on your transcript.

After that, you will have to pay for at least part of the course and you will see a “W” on your transcripts.

As drop/withdrawal deadlines approach, assess your ability to meet your obligations, if you feel overwhelmed, it may be wise to adjust your course load or discuss your concerns with an Academic & Career Advisor.

Full courses

If a course you want to register for is full, you have a few options.

Online waitlists: Some courses have waitlists. You can add yourself to the waitlist on Workday.

If you are on a waitlist and a seat becomes available for you in the course section, you will receive an invitation to register in the course section. 

You will be notified in one of two ways:

  • You’ll receive an automated email from UBC Notification. You will also receive a notification in Workday containing the same message about your offer to register.
  • A UBC staff will email you with instructions.

Monitor your email frequently if you are on a waitlist. If you are offered a seat in the course you will have 24 hours to accept the seat before it goes to the next student on the waitlist. Make sure that your email is up to date in Workday.

Learn more about how to add yourself to a waitlist by viewing our Workday tutorials and toggling to the ‘course registration’ category.

Note: Waitlist sections are not included in your total registered credits for the term.

Check the course schedule regularly: You’ll be surprised at how many people make changes to their schedule up to the add/drop deadline, and if someone drops a course while you’re on the system, you can register or add yourself to the waitlist.

Try to find another class: Try using the course search function on the Workday Course Schedule to find another suitable course if you cannot get into the one you want.

Closed course status, seat capacity of 0, and reserved courses

Closed course status: When a course is full and does not have available waitlist seats it will have a status of ‘closed’.

Seat capacity of 0: If a course has multiple required course activities such as a lecture and a lab, the non-graded activity (typically the lab) will show a seat capacity of 0 when a waitlist for the course is enabled.

You can add yourself to the waitlist for the graded course activity (typically the lecture). To register in the course from the waitlist via Workday, all required course activities must have seats available and fit into your schedule.

If there is a seat available in only one required activity, or if there are seats available in all required course activities but they conflict with your schedule, please contact the department offering the course.

Reserved course: Some seats in courses may be reserved for students in particular programs or year levels. If you’re not sure if you might be included in that reservation, try to register for the course. Many courses have reserved seats and unreserved seats (anyone can register in an unreserved seat) – if there are unreserved seats available and you meet any other course pre-requisites you should be able to register in the course.

REGISTERing for courses in WORKDAY

Log into Workday and start browsing the Course Schedule. In the Course Schedule you will be able to create saved schedules, which will give you a good idea of what your schedule will look like in the coming year. Be aware that one-hour classes are actually 50 minutes and one-and-a-half hour classes are actually 80 minutes. The extra 10 minutes gives you time to get to your next class.

When it comes time to register for your courses, you can register from your saved schedule. As long as there is still space in the courses and you meet the eligibility requirements, you will be registered into the course.

Note: Although every effort is made to ensure the course schedule is as accurate as possible at the time of publication, changes to the course schedule are sometimes necessary after publication.

These changes will not be reflected in any saved schedules you have already made. Always review your saved schedules a few hours before your registration time so you can update them to reflect any schedule changes that may have occurred since your saved schedule was initially developed.

Check out the available step-by-step tutorials for registration in Workday by toggling to the ‘course registration’ category.