Tips, Common Warnings, and FAQ

This page provides detailed actions to ensure successful registration, common warnings in Courses@Dartmouth, and frequently asked questions for course registration, course change, and add/drop.

Tips for Successful Registration

The section below details some noted actions students should take to ensure successful registration.

1. Confirmed Registration/Election

A student has only successfully submitted their registrations elections after accessing their "Primary Cart"

Clicked "Go to Registration" from their "Primary Cart"

Clicked "Submit Registration"

Confirmed registration was successful by seeing both the Green Check mark and the note "this class has been added to your schedule" in the Registration Results panel

Check their "Primary Cart" again; if a blue cart logo is visible next to the course the registration wasn't successful

An election or registration is not confirmed and not valid until a student follows the above process

2. Only Primary Carts Allow Registration

Some students may take advantage of secondary carts to mock-up additional course schedules. Please note that although these secondary carts may be helpful, they are not submittable for registration. Only Primary Carts feature the "Go to Registration" button and allow successful registration.
The Arts & Sciences Registrar's Office does not access secondary cart data and will not utilize it when processing elections or registration

3. Grid Search View

The Grid Search (button is located just below the "Reset" button in the search panel) displays a list of courses in a table format with slimmed-down details. Students still click on a course to see the course details from the Grid Search view

4. View all UG Courses

To see all courses offered at the undergraduate level for the term, a student can use the Advanced Search dropdown filter "Any School/Course Type" and select "UG - Arts & Sciences School", then click "Search" or "Grid Search" for results

Common Warnings & Cart Messages

The messages below are common warnings that can display while using Courses@Dartmouth. These warnings are preceded by the following symbol:

yellow triangle with an exclamation point in the middle icon

Warning Message	Explanation	Action to Correct Error
Administrative staff are reviewing your registration records at this time. Please try again later	You likely have more than one active session open in Courses@Dartmouth Registration	Courses@Dartmouth only allows one active registration session at a time. Logging into Courses@Dartmouth Registration from multiple web browsers, windows/tabs, or devices will cause registration errors and performance issues
Enrollment Limit Reached	The course has reached the enrollment limit	Select another course or section
Co-Requisite	The course requires enrollment in another specified course and/or section during the same semester	You must add all co-requisite components to your Primary Cart before submitting registration; otherwise, you will continue to receive the co-requisite error
Lab/Discussion	The course requires enrollment in another specified section. Review the Required Linked Section(s) in the Course Details Pane	You must add all required sections to your Primary Cart before submitting registration; otherwise, you will continue to receive the ‘Missing required lab/lecture’ error
CRN does not exist	The five-digit CRN you entered is not recognized by Courses@Dartmouth	Confirm you have the correct CRN. Be sure to enter it correctly
Duplicate Course	You have already registered for this course/section	Drop the course from your schedule, then attempt to re-add the other section
Instructor Permission Required/Instructor Approval	The course instructor must approve your enrollment in the course	Contact the instructor. If permission is granted, you will be given an INSTRUCTOR override. If granted an override, you must add the course
Level Restriction	You do not have the correct level required for taking the course (ex: undergraduate attempting to register for a graduate-level course)	Select another course appropriate to your enrollment level
Prerequisite	You have not met the prerequisite established for the course	Select another course or secure a prerequisite override from the Instructor/Department. If granted an override, you must then submit registration for the course
Time Conflict	The meeting time of the course you selected overlaps with another class selected	Select another course or section
You have taken this course	You have previously completed this course. Students may not repeat courses for credit, except for independent study courses, ensembles, and music lessons within specified limits (See ORC/Catalog for more information)	This is a registration note for your reference (not an error). The course is not repeatable if "Repeat Count Exceeds 0" displays as a registration error (see above)

Administrative staff are reviewing your registration records at this time. Please try again later

You likely have more than one active session open in Courses@Dartmouth Registration

Courses@Dartmouth only allows one active registration session at a time. Logging into Courses@Dartmouth Registration from multiple web browsers, windows/tabs, or devices will cause registration errors and performance issues

Enrollment Limit Reached

The course has reached the enrollment limit

Select another course or section

Co-Requisite

The course requires enrollment in another specified course and/or section during the same semester

You must add all co-requisite components to your Primary Cart before submitting registration; otherwise, you will continue to receive the co-requisite error

Lab/Discussion

The course requires enrollment in another specified section. Review the Required Linked Section(s) in the Course Details Pane

You must add all required sections to your Primary Cart before submitting registration; otherwise, you will continue to receive the ‘Missing required lab/lecture’ error

CRN does not exist

The five-digit CRN you entered is not recognized by Courses@Dartmouth

Confirm you have the correct CRN. Be sure to enter it correctly

Duplicate Course

You have already registered for this course/section

Drop the course from your schedule, then attempt to re-add the other section

Instructor Permission Required/Instructor Approval

The course instructor must approve your enrollment in the course

Contact the instructor. If permission is granted, you will be given an INSTRUCTOR override. If granted an override, you must add the course

Level Restriction

You do not have the correct level required for taking the course (ex: undergraduate attempting to register for a graduate-level course)

Select another course appropriate to your enrollment level

Prerequisite

You have not met the prerequisite established for the course

Select another course or secure a prerequisite override from the Instructor/Department. If granted an override, you must then submit registration for the course

Time Conflict

The meeting time of the course you selected overlaps with another class selected

Select another course or section

You have taken this course

You have previously completed this course. Students may not repeat courses for credit, except for independent study courses, ensembles, and music lessons within specified limits (See ORC/Catalog for more information)

This is a registration note for your reference (not an error). The course is not repeatable if "Repeat Count Exceeds 0" displays as a registration error (see above)

Cart Message	Explanation	Action to Take
You must elect a course that satisfies the First-Year Seminar Requirement this term.	You are assigned to take a first-year seminar course this term. For more information on first-year seminars, please refer to the Writing Program's website.	Register for a first-year seminar. You can filter these courses by utilizing the Advanced Search dropdown “Any Other Searchable Requirement” and selecting “First-Year Seminar Requirement”.
You must elect a course that satisfies the First-Year Writing Requirement this term.	You are assigned to take a first-year writing course this term. For more information on first-year writing courses, please refer to the Writing Program's website.	Register for a WRIT 005 course. You can filter these courses by utilizing the Advanced Search dropdown “Any Other Searchable Requirement” and selecting “First-Year Writing Requirement”.

You must elect a course that satisfies the First-Year Seminar Requirement this term.

You are assigned to take a first-year seminar course this term. For more information on first-year seminars, please refer to the Writing Program's website.

Register for a first-year seminar. You can filter these courses by utilizing the Advanced Search dropdown “Any Other Searchable Requirement” and selecting “First-Year Seminar Requirement”.

You must elect a course that satisfies the First-Year Writing Requirement this term.

You are assigned to take a first-year writing course this term. For more information on first-year writing courses, please refer to the Writing Program's website.

Register for a WRIT 005 course. You can filter these courses by utilizing the Advanced Search dropdown “Any Other Searchable Requirement” and selecting “First-Year Writing Requirement”.

I’ve added courses to my Primary Cart but I can’t submit my course election.

I’ve added a course to my cart but it isn’t showing on my schedule.

I’m trying to register for a course but it’s saying I need Instructor Permission; however, the Course Details panel doesn’t say it needs instructor permission.

How do I access Course Election and Registration?

Do I need to log in to Courses@Dartmouth to register for courses?

Is Courses@Dartmouth accessible to the public?

Who do I ask about gaining entry into a course where I did not get in during course election?

Do I need to register for a lab or discussion section?

When can I add courses?

When may I add a specific section?

When can I register for a fourth course?

What is the course election period?

When I elect courses during course election, do I indicate any second ?

What is the difference between the course changes period and the add/drop ?

The course changes period is the time segment just after the course election cycle has completed and before the term ends. During this time, students may add and drop courses online in the same manner in which students may add and drop courses during the add/drop period. The add/drop period is the 10-day time segment at the start of the term. If you are an entering student, the time period for course changes is one or two days at the start of fall term. See your orientation schedule for dates and times.

Are there any special rules about the add/drop period?

What are course enrollment priorities?

How do I know if a course has priorities assigned to it?

How do I know which departments/programs use prerequisite checking?

Where can I find out which courses are eligible for the NRO, or available as Credit/No Credit?

What if I want to take a graduate-level course?

Arts and Sciences Graduate courses may be added during the add/drop period that begins each term. They are not available during the Course Election period. All Arts and Sciences graduate courses require instructor permission to gain entry. A few courses offered by the Professional Schools are available to undergraduates if they are cross-listed with an undergraduate Arts and Sciences course. An undergraduate must register for the undergraduate section of the cross-listing. See Election of Courses in the ORC/Catalog for more information.

Where do I find textbook information?

What does it mean when the ORC/Catalog or a department/program website shows that a course has different information than what is listed in Courses@Dartmouth, such as a different distributive or world culture requirement?

The information listed in Courses@Dartmouth is the most up-to-date information. It may mean, for example, that the instructor has submitted a request to the Committee on Instruction for a change or addition in the distributive for the course since the ORC/Catalog was published. Courses@Dartmouth includes not only the meeting time and instructor, but also its official distributive and/or world culture designation. This information supersedes any information you may see elsewhere, to include what may appear in the ORC/Catalog or on a department/program website. Note that course attributes may change term to term therefore those in effect are those (only) during the term in which you enroll in the course.

I am having technical difficulties viewing DartHub on my computer. Where do I go for help?

I would like some assistance with registration and viewing my student record. Who can help me?

Once I have finished using DartHub, how can I be sure no one else can access my record?

How do I communicate with the Registrar's Office when I am off campus and what are your office hours?

If I have a time conflict with an academic course (including a lab or discussion section) and an X-hour of another course, and I have learned that the X-hour of the course causing the conflict is not going to be used, may I still register for both courses

If I have a time conflict with an academic course X-hour that I have learned is not going to be used and a PE or Wellness course, may I still register for both courses?

If a course listed in Courses@Dartmouth shows that it has already met its limit, may I still attempt to seek entry?

I wish to enroll in a cross-listed course, and Courses@Dartmouth indicates space is available, but I can't get in. Why?

How do I read enrollments and enrollment limits for cross-listed courses?

Cross-listed courses are considered as single courses spread across a number of sections. Therefore, their enrollments are considered as a single total, no matter how many sections are involved. The Course Details Panel displays both the cross-listed enrollment limit as well as the individual course enrollment limit. If the enrollment limit is reach for one course, but not the others, check each cross-listed course for available space to register.

Arts & Sciences Registrar’s Office

Tips, Common Warnings, and FAQ

Tips for Successful Registration

Common Warnings & Cart Messages

Cart Messages

Frequently Asked Questions