Mar 28, 2024  
2023-24 Western Washington University Catalog 
    
2023-24 Western Washington University Catalog

Registration


Registrar’s Office, Old Main 230, 360-650-3432 registrar.wwu.edu

Registration for each quarter is conducted in three phases using Web4U, wwu.edu/web4u:

  • Phase I — A period in which continuing, new transfer, and post-baccalaureate students register by appointment for a maximum of 18 credits.
  • Phase II — A period before the beginning of the quarter when students can revise registration schedules, registering for a maximum of 20 credits. Except as noted otherwise, new freshmen register at orientation on the Monday before the quarter begins.
  • Phase III — A period beginning the first day of the quarter and ending at midnight on the fifth day of the quarter. Students register online during the first five (business) days of the quarter without the need of an override.

Complete registration instructions can be found on the Registrar’s Office website at registrar.wwu.edu/registration. It is crucial that students verify their registration schedules via Web4U. Students are prohibited from attending a class without being registered.

All new students participate in Orientation, Advising and Registration (OAR) that help them prepare for their first quarter. New students attend an Advising & Registration session, and complete required and recommended Orientation tasks, before their first quarter of enrollment. More information about OAR can be found on the New Student Services/Family Outreach website.

Student Responsibility for Registration

Students are responsible for completing their own registration each quarter. While faculty may provide permission with an override to enroll in a restricted course, the student must complete the process via Web4U. Schedule changes initiated after the first five days of the quarter require an override from the course instructor. Independent study registrations must be approved by the department and submitted to the Registrar’s Office for processing. Registration is still accessible via Web4U beginning the sixth day of the quarter. 

It is important for students to make certain they are not registering for a course in which they already received credit, either at Western or elsewhere. Unless the course is marked in this catalog as repeatable, it cannot be taken more than once for credit.

Registration Restrictions

For pedagogical reasons, some courses are restricted to certain levels of students, to students who are declared majors, or to those who have received special permission from the instructor. Such restrictions are listed in Browse Classes. The student is responsible for ensuring that they have satisfied all prerequisites before registering for a course. A student who has registered for a course without satisfying prerequisites may be required to withdraw from the course by the instructor.

Registration Holds

A “hold” is placed on registration for students who have any outstanding obligations to the University. These obligations can include outstanding debts, failure to comply with immunization policies, failure to comply with certain admissions requirements or academic regulations, insufficient progress, and violations of conduct codes or other University rules.

Waitlisting & Registration

When a course reaches capacity during Phases I, II and III of registration, students may add themselves, via Web4U, to an automatically-generated waitlist. Before waitlisting is allowed, however, students must meet all enforced course prerequisites and other course restrictions listed in the University Catalog and Browse Classes.

When a seat becomes available in a waitlisted class, an automated email message is sent to the official WWU email address of the first student on the waitlist, notifying the student of the available seat. Students may also sign up to have waitlist notifications and other official WWU communications sent via text message. Students who receive notification of seat availability are responsible for registering via Web4U before the notification expires. During Phases I and II, notifications are active for 24 hours from the time the notification is sent, and for 12 hours during Phase III. The notification expires if the student does not register within the time allowed, and a notification is then sent to the next student on the waitlist.

Further details on waitlisting policies and how to sign up for text message notification can be found under Registration on the Registrar’s Office website.

Late Registration

The deadline to register or to add a class is midnight on the fifth day of the quarter (see the Summer Session website for summer quarter registration deadlines).

Late registration (initial registration for the quarter) is permitted only with current permission from the instructor. After the first five days of a quarter, initial registration is allowed only by: 1) obtaining an override from the course instructor, and 2) paying the late-registration fee. Students adding classes to an existing schedule beginning the sixth day of the quarter must obtain an override from the course instructor, but will not be charged a late-add fee until the beginning of the third week. (See the Summer Session website for specific summer quarter deadlines.)

Extension Registration

Registration procedures for extension programs vary. Contact the appropriate program office for registration dates. See the Outreach and Continuing Education  section in this catalog.

Students may register for Independent Learning courses (correspondence) at any time during the quarter; however, the academic quarter of record assigned to the course is determined by the Registrar’s Office in consultation with Outreach and Continuing Education. Call Outreach and Continuing Education at 360-650-3650 for additional information. Enrollment in correspondence or online courses only does not qualify as continuing enrollment for newly admitted, first-quarter WWU students. Contact the Registrar’s Office for information regarding student status.

Changes in Registration

Policies concerning changes in registration, such as withdrawal from a course or from the University, are described in the section titled University Academic Policies .

Course Modalities/Instructional Method

Modality is the instructional method or delivery method of a course. It describes how the course is being delivered to students. Traditionally, face-to-face has been the most common modality for courses at Western. Modalities are assigned to courses during the university academic approval process. The modality in which courses are offered can be found in Browse Classes and can be filtered in the Delivery Methods search field.

The following options are available for course modality:

Face-to-Face

Instruction is accomplished through regularly scheduled in person class meetings. The expected instructional time should be accomplished through regularly scheduled face-to-face meetings. Alternative instruction may be employed on a limited basis to meet varying pedagogical needs. In this case, an account of alternative instructional time should be documented in the syllabus.

Online

Instruction occurs online. Scheduling options for online courses include:

  • Synchronous – instruction occurs during regularly scheduled class meeting times;
  • Asynchronous – instructional time does not include scheduled meetings;
  • Mixed Synchronous & Asynchronous.

Online Summer Only

Instruction occurs online, but the course is approved for online instruction only in the summer term.

Hybrid

Instructional time is divided between face-to-face and online (in-person meetings are required, but less face-to-face time is included in the regular course schedule, replaced by alternative instruction methods including online instruction). At least 25 percent of instructional time should be scheduled face-to-face. Courses with classroom based instruction linked to classrooms in multiple locations (the ITV model) are considered hybrid.

Auditing Courses

Auditors are persons who desire to attend courses without earning academic credit. Written permission from the instructor and approval from the Registrar’s Office are required to register to audit a class.

Auditors may not actively participate in class and therefore certain courses may not be audited, including, but not limited to physical education activities, laboratory courses, studio courses, independent study courses, language courses, courses not taught in a group setting, and any other course the Registrar deems ineligible. Auditing a course cannot be used toward successful completion of academic credit.

Auditors are not allowed to register until the first day of the quarter, and the course must not have reached a maximum enrollment. Changes to or from audit cannot be made after the first five days of the quarter.

Students enrolled for 10 or more non-audited credits may audit a course without an additional charge. Students enrolled for less than 10 credits should refer to the Tuition and Fees section “Auditing a Class.” Students approved to register for an audit are responsible for paying any course fees attached to the course. Students who choose to audit self-supporting classes through Outreach and Continuing Education are required to pay the full amount of tuition and fees.

Student Records Security

Washington Administrative Code 516-26-070 prohibits access to or misuse of a student’s educational records. Any person who inappropriately gains access to a student’s records, or tampers with a student’s registration or academic record, will be subject to disciplinary action.