About Preregistration
Preregistration Overview
Preregistration is the process by which students are placed into courses for the upcoming academic year.
Starting with Fall 2023 preregistration (held in Spring 2023), Colorado College introduced a seniority-based system to determine course placement. This system decides who is enrolled in a course and who is placed on a waitlist.
The seniority-based system is based on the total number of units a student has earned. This includes:
- Units completed at Colorado College
- Approved transfer credits from other institutions (listed as “TR” on transcripts)
The following credits are not counted:
- AP, IB, or GCE credits
- “Advanced standing” credit
- Credits from the current semester
This approach helps ensure fairness and better aligns course registration with progress toward graduation. Students closer to graduating (seniors and juniors) are given higher priority for courses they need to complete their degree. This replaces the previous points-based system, where students bid points for course placement.
Academic Calendar and Course Registration
Colorado College’s academic year is divided into eight blocks for preregistration:
- Blocks 1–4 make up the fall semester
- Blocks 5–8 make up the spring semester
Students must register for one course per block. Most courses last one block (1 unit), but some span two blocks (2 units). Students can choose a mix of these options, as long as they register for at least 4 units per semester.
Preregistration Process
To complete preregistration, each student must:
- Register for full fall and spring schedules
- Obtain a Preregistration Passcode (a 6-letter code)
- Meet with their faculty advisor to receive the passcode
Passcodes are only available through faculty advisors and cannot be obtained from the Registrar’s Office or Advising Hub.
Preregistration Periods
Colorado College holds two preregistration periods each year—one in the fall and one in the spring:
- In the spring...students register for the upcoming academic year (Fall Preregistration) and complete full schedules for fall and spring blocks
- In the fall... students register for the remainder of the academic year (Spring Preregistration) and complete a full schedule for spring blocks - for most, this was drafted from before.
- In the summer... First Year Program places first-years into their first semester schedule; new students will complete their first preregistration process starting with the Spring Preregistration held in the fall.
Live registration changes are available through Add/Drop and follow blockly deadlines for adding, swapping, and withdrawing from a course. Learn more here.
REGISTRATION FOR BLOCKS 1-4 (DRAFTING FOR BLOCKS 5-8)
Each Spring—beginning in the final two weeks of Block 7 and concluding in the first week of Block 8—students will complete Fall Preregistration to plan their upcoming academic year.
During this process, students will submit:
- A finalized schedule for Blocks 1–4, which will be processed after preregistration closes
- A drafted schedule for Blocks 5–8, which will be saved and revisited during Spring Preregistration in the Fall
Course placement is determined using a seniority-based system that accounts for units earned at CC and approved transfer credits from other institutions. Units from AP, IB, GCE, and other forms of advanced standing are not included to ensure equity.
Fall 2026 Preregistration Period: April 6–April 24
(Announcement emails will be sent on April 3)
Dates
Fall 2026 Preregistration: April 6–April 24, 2026
Once preregistration closes, changes are not permitted until results are released (Tuesday, April 28). Add/Drop will open the following day.
Application
Students submit course selections through the Preregistration application, accessible via:
- The Banner student menu
- The “Register Here” button in Stellic
Preregistration Requirements
Students must submit:
- A complete academic-year plan (Blocks 1–4 for fall; Blocks 5–8 for spring)
- A Preregistration Passcode from their faculty advisor
Course Processing
- Registrations are processed for Blocks 1–4 only
- Students will either be enrolled or placed on a waitlist based on the seniority system
- Blocks 5–8 selections are saved as drafts and finalized during Spring Preregistration in the fall
- No changes can be made after submission until the next preregistration period
Additional Resources
Attend Pre-Reg Pop-Up Advising Events hosted by the Advising Hub—informal, drop-in sessions for questions and planning.
Schedule:
- Opening Week: Thurs, April 9 | 12:00–1:30 PM | Worner (Inside)
- Closing Week: Thurs, April 23 | 12:00–1:30 PM | Worner (Outside)
Next Steps
- Results available: Tuesday, April 28 (via Banner Student Schedule)
- Email notification will be sent once posted
- Add/Drop opens the following day
- Stellic will be updated at that time
REGISTRATION FOR BLOCKS 5-8
Each Fall—beginning in the final two weeks of Block 3 and concluding in the first week of Block 4—students will complete Spring Preregistration to plan their second half of the academic year.
During this process, students will submit:
- A finalized schedule for Blocks 5-8, which will be processed after preregistration closes
Course placement is determined using a seniority-based system that accounts for units earned at CC and approved transfer credits from other institutions. Units from AP, IB, GCE, and other forms of advanced standing are not included to ensure equity.
Spring 2026 Preregistration Period: November 3–November 21
(Announcement emails will be sent on Oct 31)
Dates
Spring 2026 Preregistration: November 3–November 21, 2025
Once preregistration closes, changes are not permitted until results are released (Tuesday, Dec 2). Add/Drop will open the following day.
Application
Students submit course selections through the Preregistration application, accessible via:
- The Banner student menu
- The “Register Here” button in Stellic
Preregistration Requirements
Students must submit:
- A complete semester plan (Blocks 5–8 for spring)
- A Preregistration Passcode from their faculty advisor
Course Processing
- Registrations are processed for Blocks 5–8 only
- Students will either be enrolled or placed on a waitlist based on the seniority system
Additional Resources
Attend Pre-Reg Pop-Up Advising Events hosted by the Advising Hub—informal, drop-in sessions for questions and planning.
Schedule:
- Opening Week: Thurs, Nov 6 | 12:00–2:00 PM | Worner (Inside)
- Closing Week: Thurs, Nov 20 | 12:00–2:00 PM | Worner (Inside)
Next Steps
- Results available: Tuesday, December 2 (via Banner Student Schedule)
- Email notification will be sent once posted
- Add/Drop opens the following day
- Stellic will be updated at that time
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DURING Registration Season...
Students and advisors can prepare for their registration meetings by thinking about the following items that are commonly asked...
A: Things that can increase the demand on a course:
- A course is offered once to a few times in the year
- A course is an introductory/prerequisite course into a major/minor
- A professor is in high-demand
A: As suggested, students with the most seniority by CC + TR units will have a higher priority-placement than those who have less. Here are some strategies to consider:
- Consider which requirements you are hoping to meet in the semester and explore all course options that can satisfy those requirements.
- If a course is offered more than once, chances are higher of obtaining a seat.
- Keep your schedule flexible! On the block plan, course enrollments tend to shift pretty quickly. Have back up plans in place using your Stellic Planner in the event your first choice does not pan out.
A: Students preregister for block seminar-style courses that fill each block (blocks 1-4 and 5-8). Students can also preregister for adjuncts (a maximum of 3 per semester).
EFFECTIVE Spring 2025+: Students are now able to preregister for their one block off following the Student Time Off Policy.
A: Prerequisite information is available on the course schedule in Banner or in the course information panel in Stellic. If you have met the prerequisites for a course, you will be able to register without permission from the professor (unless a COI or COD PIN is required). Otherwise, if you have NOT met the prerequisites for the course but feel you may still qualify to register, contact the professor assigned to the course to seek their approval and obtain their COI PIN (consent of instructor pin). This pin will be used in the "Consent" field in the Preregistration application to override the prerequisite error encountered.
see below of how the system "checks" prerequisites.
A: The registration applications are able to check and restrict against most (but not all) prerequisite scenarios. In the event you meet the prerequisite for a course that is outside of the system's ability to check for, a consent pin from the professor will be needed to override an encountered error in the system due to failing a prerequisite check.
System Checks:
- Courses taken at CC
- Qualifying AP scores
- Major/Minor declarations
- Class level (by units)
Common scenarios that are asked about which the system cannot check for are:
- When a prerequisite was taken at a different institution. Transfer work is NOT a system check.
- When a student skips a level, but the level skipped is the prerequisite. For example, if a student jumps into Calculus 2 but the prerequisite is Calculus 1, the system cannot check for that.
- IB or GCE credit
- When a prerequisite requires "criteria" knowledge vs a set of courses.
A: Half (H) Block course registration will not be part of the Preregistration process. Half block encompasses 0.50 unit course offerings during the month of January. H Block registration opens with Fall schedule changes in Add/Drop in the Spring. Announcements are shared via emails and daily digests; be sure to stay tune in to these communication outlets to keep up on registration events.
A: Summer is also not part of the preregistration process. Summer registration opens with Spring schedule changes in Add/Drop in the Fall. Announcements pertaining Summer registration will come from the Summer Session Office.
A: Preregistration Passcodes are assigned to all students at the beginning of each Preregistration period. This passcode is unique to the student and will be used to submit their Preregistration (once a full schedule is reflected). Passcodes contain a 6-letter combination and is set to ALL Caps. Each faculty advisor has access to their advisee’s passcodes via Banner SSB/Faculty Services tab > My Advisees. (Spring 2026 Passcodes are to be posted by 10/24)
There are two sets of consent pins that are used in registration. These pins are a 6-letter combination and are set to ALL Caps. Below are overviews of both:
- COI PINs: All faculty with a teaching schedule are assigned a Consent of Instructor PIN per term. Faculty can access their COI PIN for the term from their Banner SSB/Faculty Services tab > Your Teaching Schedule. There are two ways a student may ask for this PIN:
- If a course has a COI designation, the student must have this COI PIN to preregister or register for the course regardless of meeting any other indicated prerequisites.
- If a course is listed as "COI or a prerequisite" the PIN will not be required unless the student does not meet the prerequisite; in this situation the COI PIN will override the prerequisite error should the student and faculty member have a conversation and determine eligibility to register for the course.
- COD PINs: All departments are assigned a Consent of Department PIN and are accessible only through the Department Chair. If a course has a COD designation, the Chair of the department is able to provide this pin and can access this from their Banner SSB/Faculty Services tab > Consent of Department (not the same as their separate and unique instructor's consent pin).
A: Once a student submits their Preregistration, they may go back in and make changes as many times as they choose while the Preregistration period is open. Advisors will be notified of any additional changes to the student's schedule once the original submission is made.
A: Registering for Psychology’s BYOB (blocks 5 and 6). Students who are signing up for Psychology's BYOB courses in blocks 5 & 6 will need to do two things:
- Register for the course sequence pairing as you would any other course.
- ADD two extra general studies placeholder courses "GS391" to fill both blocks (5 & 6). This may look like a course overload but BYOB courses are actually designed as two extended format courses and therefore students will also need two block seminar courses to recognize a full course load; the GS391s will act as this in their place and will be removed once Spring Preregistration is processed in the Fall.
A: Registering for Independent Study, Research, and/or Thesis. Students who are planning an independent study, thesis, or research will need to do two things:
- Complete the required application found on "Our Services" page. Since these are individual blocks, students will have a course created unique for them! Please do not sign up for the course reference in the course schedule for a 1-on-1 block; these are meant to show the blocks and faculty who are available for the course. If your department handles the creation/assignment of independent blocks for majors (i.e. Economics, Sociology, etc.) than follow their instruction and simply follow the second bullet here for Preregistration.
- Once the application is initiated, the general studies placeholder course “GS391” can be used in Preregistration for the given block and will be replaced appropriately once the application has processed.
A: Registering for less than a full schedule. Students who are planning to take time off will need to do two things:
- If this is your first or only block off, you can now register for this by searching the course schedule for "Block Off".
- If this is your second or additional time away request, work with their Hub Advisor to process the official form. More information about Taking Time Off from CC can be found here.
- Once the paperwork has been initiated, the general studies placeholder course “GS391” can be used in Preregistration for the additional block(s) off and will be replaced appropriately once the paperwork has processed.
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POST Registration Season...
During the Preregistration open period, students submit one course each block to register for, but they are also encouraged to plan for back-up options in the event they get (waitlisted) in the preregistered course. CC's degree progress planner (Stellic) can accommodate the multiple plans to help students prepare for a quick response when the ability to swap or add additional courses is opened in Add/Drop.
After Preregistration is processed, results are released so students can see how they’ve placed into courses before Add/Drop is opened for changes. If waitlisted in a course for any of block, students can use the Course Schedule to review available seats (courses that have no active waitlist and aren't full).
- If one of the planned back-up courses happens to have 1+ seats available, students can sign up for it using Add/Drop once it opens.
- If none of their planned back-up courses have available seats, then this is where advising support really helps from faculty and Hub advisors. Students should consider looking at courses that fulfill a Gen Ed requirement, a gateway course into an intended major (for first-years), or an alternative major/minor requirement.
When using Add/Drop, students should be careful clicking through the registration screens as they will be prompted for a new waitlist and a new position if the class is full by the time they add the course – they can choose to proceed which will relinquish their original waitlist in their preregistered course or they can reset and try a new course that has available seats.
Preregistration Demand Reports
Overview Report Features: Reports below highlight the minimum seniority-units needed to get into a particular course. Keep in mind that minimum units needed from a previous preregistration period will not guarantee a spot in a course during a future preregistration period and should not be the sole source of information used to strategize course planning. Each preregistration period is unique to the timeframe and various variables impact results (i.e. cohort interests, number of times a course is offered, etc.) Take a look at the detailed report for additional statistics!
REPORTS
Waitlist Results After Fall 2023 Preregistration
Waitlist Results After Spring 2024 Preregistration
Waitlist Results After Fall 2024 Preregistration
Waitlist Results After Spring 2025 Preregistration
Waitlist Results After Fall 2025 Preregistration
Waitlist Results After Spring 2026 Preregistration
Waitlist Results After Fall 2026 Preregistration*avail 2 weeks after processing
Detailed Report Features: Reports below highlight the demand for each course, seniority-units distribution for each course, and will list the minimum seniority-units needed to obtain a seat into the particular course. Courses that did not result in a waitlist are still provided in the report (the demand for the course was equal to or less than the limit). Please keep in mind that results will vary each year and these reports should not be the only source of information used to strategize course planning. Each preregistration period is unique to the timeframe and various variables impact results (i.e. cohort interests, number of times a course is offered, etc.) Take a look at the overview report for a simplified view for courses that resulted in a waitlist!
REPORTS
Fall 2023 Preregistration Course Demand and Unit Distribution Demand Results (detailed)
Spring 2024 Preregistration Course Demand and Unit Distribution Demand Results (detailed)
Fall 2024 Preregistration Course Demand and Unit Distribution Demand Results (detailed)
Spring 2025 Preregistration Course Demand and Unit Distribution Demand Results (detailed)
Fall 2025 Preregistration Course Demand and Unit Distribution Demand Results (detailed)
Spring 2026 Preregistration Course Demand and Unit Distribution Demand Results (detailed)
Fall 2026 Preregistration Course Demand and Unit Distribution Demand Results (detailed) *avail 2 weeks after processing
These reports are shared as a PDF document and grouped by department first, then by subject number. If you are searching for a particular course, try using the keyboard shortcuts CTRL + F (for pc) or COMMAND + F (for mac) to bring up the Find tool where you may then type in your search before clicking the Enter key. Search examples: by CRN, by Course ID, by Title.
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