Why Can't I Enroll In This Course?
If you can’t enroll in a particular course, don't panic! Try these next steps to see if they solve your problem.
Enrollment Troubleshooting
- If you are using Simple Enroll and it returns an error, try using the Enroll function on regular Axess to sign up for your course instead.
- If you are having trouble enrolling in a course that has both a lecture and a section, try enrolling in the lecture first, then the section. If that doesn’t work, try the other way around as well.
- Look up your course on Explore Courses and click on the blue “Schedule for [course]” link. Check for information on enrollment limits (e.g. “Students enrolled: 60/60”), prerequisites you may be missing, an application you need to fill out, or other class notes.
- Changes to your COLLEGE, THINK, or PWR enrollment usually cannot be done on Axess. Rather, please follow the instructions here.
- A few courses have their prerequisites "hard-coded" into Axess, preventing you from enrolling until certain conditions are met. For example, you may not be able to enroll in Chem 31B or Econ 50 until your grades have posted for all the prerequisite classes. You cannot enroll in Math 19, 20, 21, or 51 unless you have taken the Math placement diagnostic first. Similarly, students who have never taken an entry-level Physics course at Stanford must take the Physics placement diagnostic to enroll in Physics 41, Physics 43, Physics 45, or Physics 61. In any of these cases, come back and try again once your grades have posted or after you have received your placement test results.
- Keep in mind that for cross-listed courses, the true number of enrolled students comprises the total number of students enrolled under each of the course names. For example, if a class is listed under two names and has a total cap of 60, and one course name shows 32 enrolled students and the other course name shows 28 enrolled students, this class is now full.
- If you can’t enroll because your preferred lecture or section time is full, choose another timeslot if you can. Keep checking back on Explore Courses and Axess in case a spot opens up.
- Even if you can't enroll, we strongly encourage you to keep checking back on Axess, and to show up to the first meeting of your desired lecture or section time regardless. You may also try emailing the course instructors to ask to be added to their Canvas page so that you may follow along with the course from the beginning of the quarter. It is common for other students to drop their spot in the class during the first few weeks, or the enrollment limit may be increased if there is enough demand.
Enrollment Holds
If you cannot enroll in any classes, there may be an issue with your individual account.
- Check Axess to see if you have any enrollment holds. (See also: Help, I have an enrollment hold!) After autumn quarter, keep an eye out for the Student Information Update Hold, which you can lift yourself by updating your personal information.
- If you have no enrollment holds but still suspect a problem with your account, you may contact the Student Services Center (SSC), on the second floor of Tresidder Union. Students are encouraged to file a Service Now Ticket. The SSC is the best way to contact the Registrar’s Office, as the Registrar's Office oversees all enrollment, transcript, and official records of the university.
Other Common Enrollment Issues
Want to change your PWR quarter or section?
Please see the Enrolling in PWR page for all questions relating to PWR enrollment.
Want to change your COLLEGE or THINK course?
See the Enrollment FAQ for more information on COLLEGE and THINK enrollment.
Hoping to resume a Language you have already studied?
If you have ANY prior experience with the language, you must take a placement test before courses begin. In the summer through autumn, there are scheduled exams for Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Classical Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Spanish for Home Background Speakers, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. Be sure to check for the placement test deadlines at the Language Center. For other languages, email languagecenter@stanford.edu.
Language placement test results are valid for one year, so if your results have expired, you must retake the exam.
Review the full guidelines for placement tests, and if you have questions, email languagecenter@stanford.edu.