Most of the transactions that the DUS has with the University Registrar’s Office are described in other sections of this handbook, particularly Yale College Programs of Study (YCPS) and Related Information and How to Graduate a Senior. This section covers other miscellaneous matters. For general questions about Registrar’s Office policies and procedures, email registrar@yale.edu.

Registration

Fall term course registration for returning students takes place in late April (of the previous term) and for first-year students, several days before add/drop period opens, which is typically one or two days before classes start.

Spring term course registration, for all students, takes place in November. 

Registration is held well before the start of the term so as to provide a close approximation of student enrollment. It allows departments to manage enrollment demands, determine the number of discussion/lab sections and teaching fellows needed, assess the size of the classroom in which the course will be taught, and provide faculty the opportunity to review instructor permission requests for limited enrollment courses.

On, or shortly before, the start of classes, the add/drop period opens allowing faculty to refine course enrollment and students to refine their course schedules. For the fall term, first-year students may complete their registration during add/drop period. Open and close dates are indicated in the Calendar of Pertinent Deadlines in Yale College Programs of Study and on the registration website.

Preference Selection

Some departments use Preference Selection to manage enrollment for certain courses before the start of the term. This online service allows students to rank multiple sections of a course or multiple courses of a particular family (e.g. directed studies). Seats are distributed to students through lottery and are placed directly on the student’s schedule at the department's discretion. To learn more about Preference Selection or to implement this service in your department, please contact the University Registrar’s Office at registrar@yale.edu.

Classroom Assignments and the Scheduling of Final Examinations

Questions concerning classroom assignments and the scheduling of final examinations may be discussed with Brendan McGovern, Assistant University Registrar.

The final examination schedule appears on the Final Examination Schedules page in Yale College Programs of Study.

The University Registrar’s Office will schedule a final examination on request for a course that for one reason or another has not been assigned a final examination date, assuming the instructor has taken into account the other examinations scheduled for every student in the course. Such requests may be sent to classrooms@yale.edu.

Student Information and Enrollment Statistics

The DUS and their administrative assistant have access to a suite of reports, including an alphabetical list of students majoring in the department or program and departmental course enrollment statistics. Reports can be accessed through the Jaspersoft link on the University Registrar’s Office website.

In requesting or sending the registrar information about a student, it is important to provide the student’s full name, class, residential college affiliation, major, and, if at all possible, the student’s System ID number, which appears on most documents provided by the registrar. Courses should be identified clearly by subject abbreviation and number (e.g., “HIST 119”).