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In an effort to maximize our service capabilities, we are collecting service requests via the Registrar Support form instead of email. Once your request is submitted, our staff will work on your request and follow up with you. Thank you for your patience during our transition

Freshman Registration Seat Allocation

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In an effort to provide an equitable registration experience for all incoming NTC Freshmen, regardless of which Freshman registration event they participate in, the Registrar’s Office uses the following procedure to allocate seats during CAST (Freshman Registration in June).

Procedure

  1. The day before CAST, all 1000, 2000 course sections, and those 3000 course sections identified by Academic Advising as needed by Freshman, are adjusted to have their maximum seats match the current enrollment, effectively closing the sections. Waitlisting is also turned off (though the active waitlist is left in place).
  2. A calculation is then run on each section to determine how many seats are available between the current maximum and the absolute maximum (which is the cap set by the department).
  3. Each morning of Freshman Registration, the Registrar then allocates a percentage of the available seats for each section based on the percentage of the Freshman Class registering that day.
  4. This process continues until the Absolute Maximum (set by the department) is reached. The absolute maximum set by the department (on which room assignments are based) are never exceeded without permission.
  5. After Freshman registration, current maximums are reset to match the projected max set by the department, releasing any remaining seats to all students.

Example

  1. ENLS‐2030‐01 is set to a maximum of 30 by the department
  2. The day before CAST begins, there are 4 students in the course, so the Registrar lowers the current max to 4 while leaving the projected max at 30. This means that there are 26 seats available to be allocated during CAST.
  3. One the first day of CAST, 9% of incoming Freshmen are registering. 9% of 26 available seats is 2.34 (we round up at .5), so 2 seats are then added to the current max, bringing it up to 6, allowing 2 students to add the section that day.
  4. This procedure is followed each day of CAST using the percentage of incoming students registering that day.
  5. At the end of CAST, the section has been raised to a current max of 28 but only 26 students enrolled. The current max would then be raised to 30 to match the projected max set by the department, releasing the remaining 4 seats to anyone.

FAQ

What about waitlists?

While students cannot add themselves to waitlists during CAST, students already on the waitlist will not be affected. Any seat that opens during CAST will be offered to waitlisted students first according to normal waitlist procedures before becoming available to any incoming student.

Will the cap set by the department be honored?

YES! The Registrar will not exceed the section cap set by the department without permission and confirmation of available classroom space.

Why is this necessary?

High School students across the country are not all available at the same time. Through no fault of their own, some cannot attend a Freshman Orientation event until later in June. In order to give these students a fair shot at popular courses, we must allocate seats across all registration events, rather than on a first‐come‐first served basis. Otherwise, popular courses would fill first, leaving students attending later registration events with little to no choice in their scheduling, which is contrary to Tulane’s ethos of student choice, interdisciplinarity, and exploration.