Course Selection

Below you can find answers to some of the most common questions about courses and course selection. First-year students are invited to check out this guide on picking their first-year courses, or this guide for more information about academics.

To help you plan your degree check out this Degree Progress Chart! 

Table of Contents:

When does course selection open?

Course selection windows
Are you wondering when you can register for classes? Your course selection window is the window of time during the course selection period in which you can add classes. All programs determine class level on the basis of successfully completed credits plus the number of credits in progress. 

Click the following links to determine your  class level and course selection window.
 

How do I add or drop courses?

An official video guide demonstrating the process for adding courses can be found by following this link. You can also read a transcript of the video.


What happens when I drop a course?

You can use the above process to drop courses provided it is done before the "drop date".  Once a course is dropped, any record that you were enrolled in the course is removed from your academic transcript. Depending on when in the semester the course is dropped, you may be refunded some or all of your tuition according to this table. You can find other dates and deadlines by checking the current Schedule of Dates.

 

What if I need to drop a course after the drop deadline?

If you would like to drop a course after the drop date, you must contact the BAS Program Counsellor ​as soon as possible. Decisions regarding dropping courses after the drop deadline are made based on extenuating medical, psychological, or compassionate considerations, you can submit a written request and any supporting documentation to the BAS Program Counsellor no later than the 20th day of the following semester. 

 

Which first-year courses should I take?

That depends on your minors! Check out our page that discusses this topic at greater length to find out more.

To help you plan your degree check out this Degree Progress Chart! 

A course I need is full or restricted. What do I do?

For more information, check our article about course restrictions.

During the course "add period", some courses are restricted to students of certain majors/minors/programs or years. Below are three common situations:

1. If you are a FIRST year student and cannot get into a required course, you should email bas@uoguelph.ca. If you are NOT a first-year student, know that these 1000-level courses are reserved for first-year students until 12:00PM on Monday July 22. If you require a first year course but are not in first year, contact your Program Counsellor.

2. If you have been restricted from an ASCI course, you should email bas@uoguelph.ca.

3. Have you declared your minors yet? If not fill out this form and send it to bas@uoguelph.ca

4. For any other situation the BAS Program Counsellor is not the best person to seek assistance from. When a student is restricted from a course, or the course is full they must gain permission for entry from the individual who controls the course (e.g. Instructor, Department, Program Counsellor for that area of study). Please take the following steps if you wish to seek entry into a course for which you are restricted from or is full.

  • Check on the available information about course restriction broken down by department by following this link. That page also contains the contact information for some departments/individuals on campus in case you need more information or other help with respect to course selection.
  • If you wish to be added to a full or restricted course, you must complete a Course Waiver Request form and obtain the signature of the instructor (or department) of that course. Please note, restrictions are in place for many reasons, so there is no guarantee that you can be signed into a course.
  • If you gain permission through a course waiver form then the completed form should be taken to Enrolment Services on the third floor of the University Centre. If you have trouble identifying or contacting the instructor of your course, or if you need to contact other faculty or staff concerning course restrictions, click here for more information.

 

What does "Discontinued Course" mean?

It is common to find "Discontinued Course" errors when browsing through academic calendars. In many cases, courses are re-numbered as undergraduate programs are updated or modified. (For instance, PHYS*1300 replaced PHYS*1020 in the 2015-2016 calendar as the introductory physics course for students who did not take a 12U physics course.) Please remember to use the academic calendar for the year that you started your current degree program, not the current year. If you started your BAS degree in September 2018, then you would use the 2018-2019 undergraduate calendar, and if you started a BSc. degree in 2016 but switched into the BAS in Fall 2017, then you would use the 2017-2018 academic calendar.

In many cases, discontinued courses that have already been taken will be counted as some equivalent course where prerequisites or program requirements are concerned. The discontinued course will show up as a "restriction" in the new courses description. If you are unsure you should contact the BAS Program Counsellor.

Descriptions of discontinued courses can also be found by looking through previous academic calendars.