SOAR Frequently Asked Questions

If you have already gone through SOAR, we recommend first speaking with your advisor before taking these actions, because doing so could cause unexpected consequences. If you have spoken to your advisor, look at the Enrollment Actions page for step-by-step instructions.

If you’re changing one class out for another, we recommend using the “swap function” rather than dropping one course and adding another. This ensures you get a spot in the new course before you lose your spot in the other one.

For courses that have a waitlist option, we recommend adding yourself to the waitlist, looking for other open sections, and to keep checking for open seats (more information about waitlists on this page).

In the meantime, enroll in a back-up course in case you are not able to get into your first choice! You can always swap into the waitlisted course if a spot becomes available.

If you have additional questions or concerns about this, you will want to contact the appropriate academic department. As academic advisors, we do not have control over closed courses nor waitlists. We also cannot grant any enrollment permissions for classes. Each academic department (e.g., Rehabilitation Psychology, Art, Curriculum and Instruction, etc.) manages access to their courses.

The department will email you if/when a spot is available, and then you usually have 24-48 hours (depending on the department) to go in and actually enroll in that course. Watch your WiscMail, as you don’t want to miss your window!

If you are receiving a “validation” error in Course Search & Enroll about holds, try revalidating: When you go to enroll, click “revalidate” (right next to the enroll button) first, and then “enroll”. That “refreshes” the validation of those courses.

There could be a number of reasons why you may be seeing an enrollment error, such as not meeting the prerequisites for a class, trying to enroll in a section that’s reserved for a specific group, etc. This “Common Issues and Error Messages” page is a good resource for understanding what those messages mean. It also offers some helpful advice for how to move forward if you receive an enrollment error.

If that doesn’t answer your question, call or chat DoIT to trouble-shoot.

School of Education academic advisors typically do not place nor remove enrollment holds. In most cases, you will need to contact whichever unit/department initiated the hold (e.g. Housing, Office of Student Financial Aid, etc.). You can find who placed the hold, as well as how to contact them, in your Student Center.

Remember to complete your pre-enrollment checklist before enrolling. If you do not, a hold will be placed on your enrollment until you do so. Once you complete it, that hold will automatically be removed.

If you are receiving “validation” errors in Course Search & Enroll about holds, and you are sure you do not have a hold after checking your Student Center, go ahead and try enrolling and/or follow the “revalidation” steps outlined here.
Common Holds:
Undergraduate Admissions Hold: This means you need to send a final official transcript to UW Admissions. While you’re waiting for your transcript to arrive, you can get the hold lifted by self-reporting your grades.

• Access your Student Center through the MyUW portal.
• Select the Applicant Homepage from the dropdown menu.
• Select the Admissions tile to access the Report Grades link.
• If you don’t see the Admissions Tile, make sure at the top of your screen you are seeing “Applicant Homepage”, if you are not, use the arrow to change the selection.

Financial Responsibility Agreement: This is the pre-enrollment checklist that we mentioned above. This is listed on this website, with instructions for how to remove it. It should be in your Student Center. Click the box that has a big exclamation point that says Tasks.

You can find semester deadlines on the Office of the Registrar’s Dates and Deadlines webpage. This includes information on add/drop windows, first day of classes, tuition adjustments, and more.

Pass/fail is an option where, instead of taking a course for a grade, a student takes the class with only two options: pass or fail. A course taken pass/fail earns credit if you earn an A-C and no credit if you get a D or below; no letter grade or grade points are given. There are some restrictions to which courses can be taken as P/F: pass/fail courses cannot count towards your general education requirements, liberal studies, or major. It’s a good idea to discuss this with your advisor before registering for a course on a P/F basis, because it may have unintended effects on your GPA or major. View the full policy here.

Full-time enrollment means being enrolled in at least 12 credits during the fall/spring semester. Sometimes students are required to attend full-time based on visa status, association with athletics, financial aid, etc. If you are receiving financial aid, we recommend checking in with the Office of Student Financial Aid to make sure that dropping below full-time status would not impact your eligibility. We also recommend connecting with your academic advisor to discuss how taking courses part-time for a semester might impact degree progression.

Your academic advisor is a great resource if you have questions about degree requirements. In addition to your advisor, the School of Education Guide provides helpful outlines of degree and major requirements. You will also find information about School of Education degrees in your SOAR handbook. You can also run a DARS report to see how you are progressing towards those degree requirements (see below).

It depends! There are some categories that can overlap – for example, you can take a Global Perspectives class that also satisfies your Literature breadth, or an Ethnic Studies class that also counts as Fine Arts. Classes you take for your major may fulfill Liberal Studies requirements as well, with some exceptions. We recommend connecting with your advisor for specific overlap questions.

Please check out this page to see if your classes are likely to transfer: Credit by Exam. Credits can be for general education or degree requirements, as well as elective credits, depending on your score. For example, a score of 4-5 on the English Language or Literature exam could count for your Comm A (communications A) general education requirement. Using your exam credits can also free up seats in classes for other students.

Still need to send your AP Scores? Go into your College Board (collegeboard.org) account and send a score report to UW Admissions. Make sure to check that all scores are included (if you need to send multiple years). Once you send your scores to UW, they’ll take 2-3 weeks to appear in your account. You can view the transfer/AP credits once they’re applied to your account by following these instructions.

DARS stands for Degree Audit Reporting System, and it is a tool used to help advise students on enrollment and degree requirements, as well as track progress toward degree requirements. The Office of the Registrar has a number of tutorials on how to access and understand a DARS report.

For a major you haven’t declared yet, you can run a “What-If DARS”. You can view your progress towards requirements by following these instructions to run a what-if DARS report (instructions to run it; instructions to read it).

To determine how those credits might transfer, Credit Evaluation Services’ webpage on transfer credit is a good place to start. It’s also a good idea to connect with your assigned academic advisor to discuss your plans.

If the major you’d like to switch to is in the School of Education, you can still attend SOAR; no change to your SOAR reservation is needed. If the major you’d like to switch to is in a different College or School (e.g. Letters and Science), you can go into the SOAR reservation system and change your reservation. Any changes to your SOAR reservation must be made at least 2 weeks before your SOAR session. After 2 weeks, changes are not permitted without advisor approval. If you have questions about the advising unit you reserved with, please email soesoar@education.wisc.edu.

If you’re interested in discussing different majors after SOAR, and it will impact your fall enrollment, email soesoar@education.wisc.edu, sharing your major(s) of interest, and we’ll connect you with the best advisors to help!