The following is a list of frequently asked questions for students trying to register for STAT courses. Students trying to register for courses offered by other departments (e.g., MATH or CS) should contact the controlling department. Our department has no control over how other departments restrict their courses, and cannot provide overrides for them.

FAQ Table of Contents
Seat Availability Reserved Seats & Waitlists
Receive Notification for Open Seat Registration Errors and Restrictions
Individual Studies & Thesis Research Special Categories of Students: How to Register
Internship  

Seat Availability

  • How do I know if space is available in a section?
    • Both the Classic and Enhanced registration systems in Self-Service list the remaining seats for any given section.
    • The XL Cap is NOT the same as the section capacity, and is best to ignore.
    • Keep in mind that seats being available does not guarantee the ability to register – other restrictions may apply.
  • Will you add more capacity later?
    • Typically, the answer is no.
    • Sometimes adjustments are made, but they are not always announced.
    • Please do not contact us asking if we plan to add more seats. We will simply direct you to the site.
  • What can I do if I want to register for a section that is full?
    • You can watch for a space to open from another student dropping.
      • Course Explorer can be set to notify you of section status changes. See here.
  • Can I be added to a waitlist if a section is full?
    • No. The department does not keep waitlists. Our instructors do not keep waitlists.
  • Can I get an override to register if a section is full?
    • No. Please contact an advisor for your program to discuss your options.
  • Can the instructor approve my registration if a section is full?
    • No. Registration is governed by the department, not individual instructors. You are welcome to talk with the instructor to try to determine your preparedness for a course. While they can advise on this, they do not have the ability to assist in registering for a section that is full. There must be open space in order to register a section.
  • The course capacity is set to X, but that room has X+Y seats. Why?
    • There is a difference between room capacity and instructional capacity. Faculty and TAs have certain capacities for how many students they can teach. Due to classroom availability, sometimes a class is assigned to a room larger than what it needs, usually by a small margin.
    • We will not add more seats to reach room capacity. See question above regarding adding capacity.

Receive Notification for Open Seat

To set up a notification follow these steps:

  • Go to https://courses.illinois.edu/ and log in using the link in the top right hand side. Navigate to the course that you are interested in. For example: https://courses.illinois.edu/schedule/2024/fall/STAT/425.
  • In the 3rd column, click on the star. This will add the course to your favorites. When you do that a window pops up that you can go to your favorites in my.courses. 
  • Or you can click on “My Favorites” which is an orange box toward the right hand part of the screen. The second column on this screen “Notify Me” has a checkbox you can click to be notified via e-mail if someone drops the course and space opens up.

The email notification will state the following:

This is an automated message from the Course Explorer system notifying you that a seat has become available for the following section:

Term:
Course:
CRN:
Meeting day/time:

This notification does not guarantee you the seat nor indicate that you are eligible to enroll in that section.

Visit Student Self-Service to register for classes once your Time Ticket is active.
Modify your notifications in the Course Explorer.

Registration Errors and Restrictions

  • I received a CLOSED error. What does that mean?
    • "Closed" means the course section is full.
  • I received a RESTRICTION error. What does that mean?
    • The course is restricted to certain students, and you are not one of those students. There are many types of restrictions (Department, Major/Minor, Field of Study, Program, Level, etc). If you receive one of these errors, see the registration info page for the current term for more information on restrictions placed on statistics courses. If a restriction is temporary and will be removed, we will post there. The only way to know when a restriction has been removed is to check Enterprise Enhanced Registration regularly.
  • Can I get an override to register if a section is restricted?
    • No.
  • Can the instructor approve my registration if I don't meet a restriction?
    • No. Registration is governed by the department, not individual instructors. You are welcome to talk with the instructor to try to determine your preparedness for a course. While they can advise on this, they do not have the ability to assist in registering for a section that is restricted.
  • What can I do if I want to register for a section that is restricted?
    • If the restriction is temporary (usually the STAT major/program restriction), wait until the restriction is removed. We will typically post a notice about this on the registration info page for the term before we do it. If a restriction is permanent (usually level), choose a different section where you meet the restriction(s), or that isn’t restricted.
  • How can I tell when a section has restrictions, or if they have been removed?
    • We recommend using "Enterprise Enhanced Registration". It displays more information than Enterprise "Classic Registration" and updates more quickly than "Course Explorer" (which sometimes takes overnight for certain changes to appear). To see what restrictions are currently in place:
      • "Browse Classes" in "Enterprise Enhanced Registration"
      • Search for the course
      • Select the "Title" for the section
      • Choose "Restrictions" at the left
      • All restrictions currently in place will be listed (and any restrictions that were removed will not be listed)
  • I'm not in a Statistics major. When will the registration restrictions be removed?
    • Not all restrictions get removed. This varies by term, course, and section. Please look for the course/section on the registration info page for that term.
  • There are open seats, but I received a RESERVE-CLOSED error. What does that mean?
    • "Reserve-Closed" means that all seats remaining are reserved for a particular type of student. If all remaining seats in a course section are reserved, only students that fit the criteria can register. Sections with reserved seats are listed on the "Details" page for the current term.
    • There is no visible difference in how the reserved seats or normal seats look in Enterprise. The only way to know whether an "open" seat is reserved (or not reserved) is to try to register for it. Because of this, it is always worthwhile to try to register any time there appear to be open seats, even if you received the "RESERVE-CLOSED" error previously and the number of open seats hasn't changed.
    • For example: Imagine there are 2 open seats, but you know these are reserved because of the “reserve closed” message you get when trying to register. If a student registers one of those reserved seats, and a different student drops a normal seat, Enterprise will still show that there are 2 open seats, but now only 1 seat is reserved, and the 2nd is available to anyone. Keep trying occasionally, as you never know whether those seats are reserved or not, until you try to register.
  • I've received a registration error not listed above. What do I do?
    • The Office of the Registrar has information about registration procedures on their website.

Special Categories of Students: How to Register

  • I am planning to transfer to STAT or add it as a 2nd/3rd major. When can I register?
    • You will need to wait until major restrictions lift on STAT courses before you are able to register. Please see restriction and registration information here: https://go.illinois.edu/StatisticsRegistration. You can change your major to Statistics as soon as your final grade in STAT 400 is visible on your official academic record and the major change period opens in the College of LAS. Please see https://las.illinois.edu/academics/programs/declaring for details and for the major change form, when it’s available. If, by the time your major change is complete, you are not yet registered for the courses you need, please email us at stat-undergrad@illinois.edu.
  • I am pursuing a Statistics minor. When can I register?
    • As is mentioned on the LAS form to declare your minor, a minor is optional, and no registration priority is given based on a minor. Thus, Statistics minors do not receive priority registration in Statistics courses, and they must wait along with the general population for restrictions to possibly be lifted.
  • I am pursuing the Applied MS in Statistics along with my PhD in another program. When can I register?
    • Applied MS students must wait until temporary restrictions are removed to register. See the Registration Information page for the current term for more information on temporary restrictions placed on statistics courses.
  • I am pursuing the CSE Concentration. When can I register?
    • Due to limited capacity and high demand in our courses, we no longer issue overrides for students pursuing a CSE concentration or minor, even into courses with CSE crosslists. Like all other such non-major programs, they are not strictly required and do not confer any priority for registration. Students are encouraged to register for any available seats after restrictions are removed.

Reserved Seats & Waitlists

Some of our courses have seats reserved for certain types of students. For example, STAT 100 often has a number of seats reserved for first-time freshmen, and STAT 200 ONL often has seats reserved for CITL non-degree students. As registration progresses, these reservations may be adjusted or removed, affecting the number of seats open to the general population. We will typically make effort to announce these changes in advance, but if they affect a small number of seats, we may not.

The Statistics Department does not have waitlists for any of our courses. Our instructors do not have authority to hold a waitlist, nor can they directly let you into a class. Registration issues are handled by department staff only.

Individual Studies & Thesis Research

Students interested in doing an individual study with a Statistics faculty member should first contact the instructor to discuss the appropriate details (material covered, work expected, credit given, etc.). Students should then speak to their advisor to ensure that the course will fit their plan of study.

After that point, in order to register for STAT 390, 391, 590, or 599, students will need to manually enter the CRN for the appropriate course. The CRNs listed in Enterprise & Course Explorer for these courses are placeholders and cannot be registered. To register, please contact stat-courses@illinois.edu to request the CRN associated with the correct faculty member. Note that email approval from that faculty member is required.

Internship

Students needing to register for an internship will need to register for STAT 593. Registration for STAT 593 requires instructor approval. Eligibility and procedure differ based on your level:

  • Undergraduate students should contact David Unger.
  • MS students should visit this page: https://stat.illinois.edu/stat-593.
  • PhD students should consult with their advisor before seeking an internship, and then they will consult with the department staff on getting you registered for the course.
  • Registration for STAT 593 without instructor approval will result in a failing grade.