Policies about waiting lists and attendance during the first week.
An explanation of "Open Reserved Seats"
For our COLWRIT R1A sections (and occasionally other courses), we generally reserve two seats, sometimes more, for students who attempted to enroll in a COLWRIT R1A section in the previous semester but remained waitlisted, and informed us about this, or for students who need to repeat the course.
Seats are reserved by a Student Specific Enrollment Permission that assigns a seat to a particular student through their SID. This is done shortly after a schedule for a term is announced publicly through the Berkeley Academic Guide. We contact the students who are on a "priority list" of waitlisted students, and the students confirm which section they want to enroll in. If a section of R1A shows "Open Seats," and under "Open Reserved Seats" it displays that two, or more, seats are "reserved for Students with Enrollment Permission" this usually means that the students have yet to follow through with enrolling through CalCentral. It does not mean that open seats are available.
If you have further questions, or think you meet the qualifications for a reserved seat, contact Mike Palmer: mikepalmer@berkeley.edu.
First Week Attendance
Our courses frequently have waiting lists. Because of this, missing class during the first week or two may result in your being dropped from a class. If you know you are going to miss classes during the first week or two, you must contact your instructor to explain your absence. The instructor can request during the first two weeks that you be dropped if you are not there. This happens across campus, not just in College Writing Programs. If your space is important, be sure you attend.
Waiting Lists and Priority
On occasion, you may have a top spot on the waiting list and still not get into the class, even when a space opens. This might happen if there is a reason for another student to have priority, or if you did not attend class the first day. To help your chances of getting a spot in a class, if you are in the first three spots on the waiting list, be sure you attend class the first day. Empty spaces tend to go to students who are there, not students who are on the waiting list but absent.