How to search for open classes using SSOL

Here is a picture guide to help you all search for open classes using SSOL!  Images are from Fall 2022, so current directions are the same except you should of course search for "Fall 2023" courses.

Once you find something that has space or a shorter waitlist, you can add/waitlist it via Student Planning during your registration time, as usual.

How to view your position on waitlists

To view your position on a waitlist for a course, you’ll need to log into SSOL (Student Services Online) using your Columbia UNI and password.

Once you log into SSOL, click on the “Registration” link on the home screen under the Academic Records section of the Your Data tab.

From there, click the “Continue with Fall 2023 Registration” button on the following screen.

You will be taken to a screen with both classes you are currently registered for and classes you are on the waitlist for. On SSOL, classes under the “Fall 2023 classes” refer to classes you are registered for and classes under the “Fall 2023 Wish List” refer to classes you’re on the waitlist for.

When you’re on the waitlist for a class, SSOL will tell you either your position on the waitlist or it will say “Pending Approval.”

If a class gives you your position on the waitlist, this indicates that the waitlist is automatic. This means that the waitlist for the class is managed by the online registration services. If a person drops the class, the student who is in position 1 on the waitlist will automatically be added to the class.

If a course says “Pending Approval” under the waitlist, this means that the professor for the course is self-managing the waiting list. Rather than students automatically getting into the class from the waitlist, the professor is individually reviewing students for admittance to the class.