In This Article:

• Overview
• How the Waitlist Works
• Joining a Waitlist
• While You Are On The Waitlist
• Emails You Will Receive
• Troubleshooting

Overview

When a course section is full, you can add yourself to its waitlist instead of missing out. With the updated waitlist, you no longer pay anything to join. You simply add your name to the list, and the system keeps your place in line.

When a seat opens up, the system offers it to the next person on the waitlist. If that is you, you receive an email and see the offer on your dashboard. You then have a limited window to claim the seat — and only pay at that point, if the section has a fee. If you do not act in time, the seat is offered to the next person in line.

Note:  Joining a waitlist never charges you. Payment, when a section requires it, happens only after you accept a seat offer.

Which waitlist does my organization use? This guide describes the updated waitlist, where open seats are offered to you automatically by email. Some organizations still use the classic waitlist, where an administrator reviews the list and enrolls people manually. If you are not sure which your organization uses — or you would like it to use the updated waitlist — contact your administrator.

How the Waitlist Works

The waitlist moves in the order people joined it — first to join, first to be offered an open seat. Here is the full cycle from your point of view:

1. You join the waitlist for a full section from the course catalog. No payment is taken.
2. You wait. Your dashboard shows the section with a Waitlisted status while you hold your place in line.
3. A seat opens — for example, an enrolled learner drops, or your organization increases the section's capacity.
4. You are offered the seat if you are next in line. You receive an email, and an Enroll Now action appears on your dashboard.
5. You accept and (if needed) pay before the offer window closes. Once you do, you are enrolled.
6. If you do not respond in time, the offer expires and the seat passes to the next person on the waitlist.

The offer window: Each seat offer is open for 24 hours. The expiry date and time are shown on both the offer email and the offer page so you always know your deadline.

Joining a Waitlist

When a section is full, the registration button on the course in the catalog reads Join Waitlist.

1. Open the course in the catalog and find the full section.
2. Select Join Waitlist.
3. A confirmation appears titled Join the Waitlist? It reminds you that you will be notified by email if a seat becomes available and that no payment is required now.
4. Select Confirm to join, or Cancel to back out.

After you confirm: you receive a confirmation email, and the section appears in the Pending Courses area of your dashboard with a Waitlisted status.

Note:  If you are not signed in when you try to join a waitlist, you are taken to sign in first and then returned to the course so you can complete joining the waitlist.

While You Are On The Waitlist

Your dashboard is the place to track where you stand. Sections you are waiting on appear under Pending Courses with a Waitlisted status. From there you can:

• Leave the waitlist at any time before a seat is offered to you, using the Leave Waitlist action. You are asked to confirm before you are removed.
• Enroll now once a seat has been offered to you — an Enroll Now action replaces Leave Waitlist on that section.

If you change your mind after leaving, you can re-join the same waitlist from the catalog, as long as the section still accepts waitlist entries. Re-joining places you at the back of the line.

When a seat is offered to you

If you are next in line when a seat opens, the system creates a seat offer for you. You will know in two ways: an email with a link to claim the seat, and an Enroll Now action on the matching section on your dashboard.

The offer page

Opening the offer — from either the email link or Enroll Now — brings you to the seat offer page. It shows the course and section name, the price (if any), and the date and time the 24-hour offer window closes (shown as a fixed expiry time, not a live countdown).

Accepting a free seat

If the section has no fee, select Accept and Enroll. You are enrolled immediately and receive a confirmation email — no payment step is involved.

Accepting a paid seat

If the section has a fee, select Continue to Checkout. You are taken to the secure payment page to complete checkout. Once your payment succeeds, you are enrolled in the section.

Note:  You are only charged when you accept a paid seat offer — never when you first join the waitlist. If the offer expires before you pay, no charge is made.

Sections that require approval

Some free sections require an administrator to approve your registration before you are enrolled. When you accept a seat offer for one of these sections, accepting submits your request for review instead of enrolling you right away. You see a message that your request was submitted and is awaiting administrator approval, and your dashboard shows an Approval Pending status. You are enrolled once an administrator approves the request.

If you decide not to take the seat

On the offer page, choosing Leave Waitlist declines the seat and removes you from that waitlist. You receive a short confirmation email. The seat is immediately offered to the next person in line.

Important:  Leaving the waitlist or declining an offer cannot be undone for that offer. You can re-join the waitlist afterward from the catalog, but you will start again at the back of the line.

If your offer expires

Seat offers are open for 24 hours. If you do not accept within that window, the offer expires and the seat is automatically passed to the next person on the waitlist. You receive an email letting you know the offer has expired.

Opening an expired offer link brings you to a page titled Offer Expired, which explains that the window has passed and the seat has been offered to the next learner. From there you can:

• Re-join the Waitlist — adds you back to the same section's waitlist (at the back of the line) after a quick confirmation.
• Browse Other Sections — opens the catalog for the same course so you can look for another section.
• Contact your administrator — if you need help or have questions about the section.

Note:  To avoid missing a seat, act before the expiry time shown on your offer email and offer page. If your offer does expire, you will be emailed, and you can re-join the waitlist to get back in line.

Emails You Will Receive

The waitlist keeps you informed by email at each key step. Times shown in emails use your organization's time zone; times shown on your dashboard and the offer page use your own browser's time zone.

Tip: Add your organization's Genius email address to your safe-senders list so seat offers do not land in spam. A missed offer email can mean a missed seat.

Troubleshooting