Frequently Asked Questions (Courses Site)

I am interested in taking a course. What should I do?

To take any course, you must be admitted to York University. Please visit our Future Students Website to learn more about our admissions process.

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When can I enrol?

Every student is assigned a specific date and time to start accessing the online Registration and Enrolment Module (REM). For continuing students, enrolment access times are based on the number of credits you have already earned, plus your currently-enrolled credits: the higher this total, the earlier your enrolment access time. The dates/times are spread out over several weeks in order to prevent the system being overloaded by many thousands of students accessing it at the same time.

Enrolment via the online Registration and Enrolment Module (REM) requires access to Passport York.

If you are newly admitted to York University, then you will get enrolment access after completing your new student advising appointment.

If you are a continuing student, then your financial account at York University must be in good standing and you need to meet any academic advising requirements set by your academic program and required by in your most recent sessional academic decision. If any of these conditions are not met, then an enrolment block on your record will prevent you from adding new courses, changing course sections, or exchanging two courses within the Registration and Enrolment Module.

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Is there a schedule of courses by major?

No. Courses on the York Courses Website timetable are searchable by subject, term, instructor, etc., but not by program major. You should consult the appropriate section of the Undergraduate Calendar to see the courses which can be taken for a particular program. You can also consult your Faculty's academic advising office for assistance with choosing courses suitable for your major. If a Degree Progress Report (DPR) is available for your program, then you can also use the DPR for information about course requirements, but you need to already be enrolled in at least one course for the DPR to work.

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How do I see if space is available in a course?

You need to be logged into Passport York. When viewing the page for a course offering on the York Courses Website timetable, a "Please click here to see availability" link appears just below the course term and course section code. When you click on that link, you will be asked to log in to Passport York. Upon a successful login, the page will refresh and the link will be replaced by "Seats Available" information.

If you see Section/Course Full, this indicates that the course has no seats remaining. This can change if an enrolled student drops the course, or if the course department adds more seats to that course section. If the course is full, you can contact the department offering the course to see if there is another section for the course that is not full, if they will be increasing the course capacity, or if you can be put on a waiting list.

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The course that I want is almost full and my enrolment time has not started yet. What can I do to enrol in it?

Because enrolment access times are based on the number of credits that a student has, it is generally expected that students with later access times (with fewer course credits) will still be able to find space in courses as the students with earlier access times are more likely to have enrolled in upper-level courses.

However, some courses may fill up before your enrolment window opens, and in some cases these may be your preferred courses.

Please keep in mind that students will continue to add and drop courses throughout the enrolment period. As well, de-enrolment exercises occur regularly throughout the entire enrolment period: so students who do not pay their registration deposit (or make other arrangements), or who do not have a needed prerequisite course, may also be dropped from the course you want. Keep checking your preferred courses: spaces may eventually open.

Please note that departments will NOT reserve seats for you before your enrolment access window opens.

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What do "Course Reserved" and "With Restriction" mean?

The terms "Course Reserved" and "With Restriction" are related to the option that departments have to give certain students priority to enrol in their courses. For example, the Department of Mathematics and Statistics might require that only students majoring in mathematics be enrolled in their 4000-level courses. First-year courses might be set aside for students who have just been admitted to the University, and business courses may be restricted only to business majors.

"Course Reserved" means that every seat in the course has been set aside for a specific academic category of student. In some cases, this might be as general as preventing graduate students from enrolling in undergraduate courses. In others, the course might be reserved for very specific groups of students - such as only those who are in a specific program or year level.

"With Restriction" means that some of the seats have been set aside for a specific academic category of student. The number of seats that have been set aside for this specific category is determined by the particular department that offers the course.

"Remaining seats may be restricted" indicates that some seats are still available, but there may be a restriction on these seats for students in specific majors or year levels.

The system does not indicate exactly for whom seats may have been reserved or restricted. If you are enrolling in courses which are appropriate to your year level, major and/or minor, then you will have a better chance of meeting the restrictions. Refer to the Undergraduate Academic Calendar for program requirements. If you are not able to enroll in a course which is required for your program, contact your department for assistance.

In some cases, departments will keep their seats reserved/restricted early in the enrolment period. Then, just before the beginning of classes, they may open the remaining seats. This is most common for courses that could be made available to non-majors. Keep trying to enrol throughout the enrolment period but be aware that courses designed for specific majors may not have spaces available for anyone outside their program.

You may seek permission from the course department to add courses where you do not meet the restriction, but there is no guarantee that you will be given that permission to enrol.

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What does "Backup" mean?

A course meeting group designated as a backup is not available for enrolment unless the department offering the course decides there is enough enrolment demand to open it. Ask the department if this is a possibility: see the individual Faculty websites for department contact information.

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What do the terms, abbreviations and acronyms in the course timetables mean?

Term:

This is the length of the course. The sessional dates associated with each term are posted under Important Dates on the Registrar's Office Website.

Section:

Some courses have more than one section, which means that the students enrolled in this course are divided into groups (such as Section A, Section B, etc.) that may be scheduled for different academic terms, days, start times, class durations and class locations. Different sections may also have different section directors and/or meeting group instructors.

Type:

Within a course section, there will be a primary meeting group, and then one or more secondary meeting group options. The structure of the meeting group is indicated by these codes:

Course Type Abbreviations
Abbreviation Course Type
BLEN Blended learning
CLIN Clinical
CORS Correspondence
DIRD Directed reading
DISS Dissertation
FDEX Field experience
FIEL Field trip
HYFX Hyflex
IDS Individual directed study
INSP Internship
ISTY Independent studies
LAB Laboratory
LECT Lecture
LGCL Language classes
ONCA Online Campus
ONLN Online learning
PERF Performance
PRAC Practicum
REEV Research evaluation
REMT Remote
RESP Research paper
REVP Review paper
SEMR Seminar
STDO Studio
THES Thesis
TUTR Tutorial
WKSP Workshop

The two-digit number following the Type code (for example, 01) indicates the meeting group number.

Day of the week:

Days of the Week Abbreviations
Abbreviation Day(s)
M Monday
T Tuesday
W Wednesday
R Thursday
F Friday
MWF Monday, Wednesday and Friday
TR Tuesday and Thursday
S Saturday
U Sunday
SU Saturday and Sunday

Location: This shows the building and the room for classes. For a list of the abbreviated forms used for campus buildings, see Building Acronyms. For online and remote courses, this area will be blank.

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The courses site shows only very brief descriptions. Where do I find the syllabus and grading schemes?

The courses site contains the official course descriptions. Many departments publish additions to the description (i.e. course outlines and syllabuses) which include more information about the contents of the course, the graded components, the deadlines for projects etc. See the individual Faculty websites for department contact information: once at the Faculty site, choose the relevant department or program, and then look for links such as "mini calendar", "course outlines" or "supplemental calendar".

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Who should I contact if a description of the course I have enrolled in is blank or marked TBA?

Faculties are responsible for providing the course description information included in this database. Please contact the appropriate Faculty's advising office for assistance.

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I want to take a course that is labeled as REMT (remote), BLEN (blended learning) or ONLN (fully online). What does this mean?

REMT / Remote:

In Fall 2021 and Winter 2022, courses offered remotely as "synchronous" with scheduled meeting times will be indicated as REMT.

BLEN / Blended learning:

Combination of Virtual and In-Person, Instructor will define whether virtual components are synchronous or asynchronous.

ONLN / Fully online:

Virtual, Instructor will define Asynchronous and Synchronous components.

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I want to take a course that is labeled as HYFX (Hyflex) or ONCA (Online Campus). What does this mean?

HYFX / Hyflex:

Hyflex courses take place in classrooms that have the appropriate technology that allows students to opt for in-person or remote learning, usually synchronous.

ONCA / Online Campus:

The course is offered online except assessments (including the final exam) which will occur in-person, on campus.

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What skills and technology will I need for a REMT (remote), BLEN (blended learning) or ONLN (fully online) course?

eLearning courses have been created to provide greater access to course content with innovative activities to enrich your learning experience as you engage with them. It is important for you to know that to be successful in courses with online learning activities (otherwise known as eLearning) you need to have the following: 1) ability to work independently and create deadlines to manage course requirements; 2) comfort with written communications and participating in online discussions with people you might not have yet met in person, and 3) access to a computer when you need it and experience with that computer.

Visit the Online Learning Protocol for York University Students web page for more details about technology and skills required for successful online learning.

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What are course credit exclusions?

Some pairs of courses cannot both be taken for degree credit because their content overlaps too significantly. These pairs are called course credit exclusions, and they will be listed at the end of the Course Description text for a course on the York Courses Website timetable. If your degree requirements specify that one course of the pair is required to fulfill a program requirement, you cannot enrol use the other course to fulfill degree requirements. However, the Registration and Enrolment Module will not prevent enrolment in the excluded course: it is your responsibility to ensure course selections meet degree and program requirements for graduation. Contact your program's academic advising office to confirm any applicable course credit exclusion.

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What is course de-enrolment (course drop) and what impact it can have on my student status?

Course de-enrolment is an activity during which either you or a York staff member drops a course you are enrolled in. Course de-enrolment is done in the Registration and Enrolment Module (REM) and can be performed up until the last date to drop a course without receiving a grade. Check the Important Dates website for drop deadlines.

Dropping a course can have both academic and financial impact:

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I need descriptions for courses I took a while ago. Where can I find those?

You can use the Advanced Courses Search to find descriptions for courses offered at least once since Fall 1998. If you are looking for a course offered before Fall 1998, contact the department that offered the course.

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I am enrolled in another university but want to take some courses at York that count towards my degree. What should I do?

First, find the description of the course(s) you wish to take at York University. Bring these to your institution to find out if they will count the course(s) it for credit towards your degree. You would need a letter of permission (LOP) from the institution that you are attending and would need to apply for admission to York University as a visiting student as detailed on our Future Students website.

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Where can I find textbook lists?

Required course textbooks are listed on the York University Bookstore website.

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