There are several ways to limit enrollment in Yale College courses. Check with your departmental registrar for maximum enrollment numbers. In lecture courses, maximum enrollment is typically determined by the number of available teaching fellows. Departmental registrars can help determine the best method for limiting enrollment in other cases. Several departments have established application processes. 

The registration system offers a formal instructor permission process for limited enrollment courses. See Managing Enrollment for Your Course on the registration website for more information.

Some departments use Preference Selection to manage enrollment before the start of the term. Preference Selection is an online service for students to rank multiple sections of a course. Seats are distributed to students through lottery and are placed directly on the student’s registration worksheet. If your department is interested in implementing this service they should contact the University Registrar’s Office at registrar@yale.edu.

It is helpful for students to know the selection criteria for limited enrollment courses. You can ask your departmental administrator to add selection information to YCS in the "Class Notes" field. This information helps students decide whether or not to apply and may reduce the number of applications you have to read. It is important to post syllabi on Canvas as soon as the Canvas sites open, and include in them detailed and clear criteria for admitting students.

Such selection criteria can include:

• A list of prerequisites.
• A statement about the number of students who may be admitted to the course.
• A declaration that the course is open only to majors, or a statement specifying that the course is open, for example, only to juniors and seniors.
• A form on the Canvas site from the instructor asking for more information from interested students.
• An application available through the departmental office.

The University Registrar's Office does not, student by student and schedule by schedule, verify that a student has received permission from an instructor to enroll in a limited-enrollment course. The registration system, however, does prevent students from enrolling without instructor permission as long as the course offering is set up to require active permission from the instructor. See Managing Enrollment for Your Course. If the name of any student who does not have the instructor’s permission to take a course appears on the final class list (that appears on Canvas after the add/drop period), the instructor should notify the University Registrar's Office to drop the student from the course. Similarly, the University Registrar's Office does not check whether or not a student has met the prerequisites for a course. It is up to the instructor to ascertain that a student has the appropriate preparation.