If you the course you want is full and you cannot register, first consider other options. Is this a required course or optional? Will it be offered next semester? Can you fill your schedule with other necessary classes?

Next, you may want to "crash" the course, which is the term used for the process of trying to enroll in a closed course under two situations. First, you may decide to enroll in a particular course after registration has ended, but before the add deadline. Second, you may wish to enroll in a course that is already full.

Each department at SDSU has their own policy for admitting crashers. In Biology, there is no single policy. Each instructor accommodates crashers for their own courses. In general, you should do the following:

• Make sure you have the necessary prerequisites because the instructor will likely verify that you have them.
• Contact the instructor and ask if they might accept crashers for their course, and what the policy is. Politeness will work in your favor. Usually you will be required to attend the first 1-2 lectures and sign a wait list. For courses with multiple lab or discussion sections, crashing is usually handled within each during lab section the first week.
• If you do not receive a reply, attend the first day of class anyway. If the instructor does not announce the crashing policy, ask after class is over.
• If the instructor wishes to admit you, they will give you an add code. Log onto WebPortal and enter in the schedule number and add code. If you cannot get into the course and other alternatives are not obvious, contact the Bioadvising office.

Open University Students

If you wish to take courses at SDSU and are not officially enrolled in a graduate or undergraduate program, you may enroll in those courses through the Open University. As an "Open University student," you may not register for a particular course until the professor has verified that all regularly enrolled students have enrolled. That will limit your selection in some courses that fill early because they are small and/or heavily utilized by full time students. You can check the online schedule of classes to see the number of seats available for both this semester and past semesters, or email the course instructor to ask if they typically accomodate Open University students. See the instructions for Open University enrollment on this web page.