Overrides

An override gives students permission to enroll in a class under special circumstances by overriding major restrictions and enforced prerequisites or the need for department approval.

Prerequisites and registration issues

If you are not able to enroll in a course, it could be because you have not met the prerequisite(s) for the course. Here are some troubleshooting questions to ask yourself:

How do I get an enforced prerequisite/restriction override?

Some courses require that you work directly with the department or college to receive an override. Departments that manage overrides are listed below.

If a course’s department or college is not listed below, you must email the course instructor. Let the instructor know a) the courses you have taken that you believe fulfill the prerequisites, b) the grades received and c) the institution that issued these grades. Some instructors or departments may ask you to take a placement test or provide unofficial transcripts to verify your completion and/or grade(s) of past coursework related to the OSU classes you desire to enroll.

Once instructor approval is obtained, forward the approval email to Ecampus Student Services from your OSU email. You must include your full name, OSU student identification number, course name and CRN.

How might my courses transfer to OSU?

The OSU Transfer Course Search tool can help you determine you how courses from your current or previous institution might transfer to Oregon State to meet any prerequisites. Please note: This is not an official transcript evaluation, but it may help determine how your credits transfer to Oregon State. We also recommend that you check with your home institution to see how any OSU courses might transfer back to your school.

You can also check OSU's course transfer tables for each community college and university in Oregon.

What's the difference between an enforced prerequisite and those listed as other prerequisites?

Enforced prerequisites relate directly to a course and are enforced at the time of registration. Other prerequisites are enforced by the department and may relate to your student class level and/or major. Information about prerequisites is available in the Ecampus schedule of classes.

What if a course has no seats available?

Keep checking the Ecampus schedule of classes, as there is a lot of change in enrollment, especially the week before classes start and the first week of the term.

What is waitlisting?

Not all courses have waitlisting, but if you are placed on one you should monitor your ONID email account frequently. When an opening becomes available, you will receive an email directing you to return to your registration and enroll in the course within the designated 24-hour window. If you do not enroll in the course within 24 hours, you will be removed from the waitlist.

What if I get an error message when registering for a course?

Contact the department hosting the course to request an override, which will remove your registration restriction. At the Office of the Registrar's website, you may review the list of restriction overrides.

Courses that require you to work directly with the department or college for overrides

Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics

The Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics has an override request form for its online biochemistry and biophysics courses. Processing may take upward of three to five business days.

Department of Integrative Biology

The Department of Integrative Biology requires students to submit a course petition form for prerequisite overrides for BI 311 – Genetics; BI 347 - Oceans in Peril; BI 351 - Marine Ecology; and BI 370 – Ecology. For other biology and zoology overrides you can email the department, you must include your full name, OSU student identification number, course name and CRN.

College of Business

The College of Business has an override request form for its courses. Requests are reviewed within 24 business hours and results will be emailed to you. Form completion does not guarantee an override is granted.

Department of Chemistry

The Department of Chemistry has an override request form for its online chemistry courses. Processing may take upward of three to five business days.

College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences

The College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences has a registration override request page.

School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Students in the Ecampus postbaccalaureate online computer science program should send questions regarding prerequisites to PostBacCS-online@oregonstate.edu. Students in the online computer science bachelor's program or the online cybersecurity undergraduate certificate should fill out the registration override petition.

Nondegree students taking computer science courses can find registration override information online.

Microcredential students (Programming Fundamentals, Engineering Management, Engineering Mechanics, Engineering Project Management) should fill out this microcredential course override form.

Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences

For override requests into Fisheries and Wildlife courses, please email the department. You must include your full name, OSU student ID number, course designator and number, and 5-digit CRN. The request needs to be sent from your OSU student email.

College of Forestry

The College of Forestry has an override request form for its undergraduate courses. Requests are reviewed within 1-3 business days and results will be emailed to you. Form completion does not guarantee an override can be granted.

College of Health

The College of Health has override request forms for its courses. You need to be enrolled in the current term. Your request will be processed, and an email sent to you within 24 hours.

Department of Horticulture

The Department of Horticulture has an override request form on their student resources page.

Department of Mathematics

The Department of Mathematics has an override request form.

Department of Statistics

The Department of Statistics has an override request form for its courses. Please allow one to three business days for processing your request.

Department of World Languages and Cultures

The Department of World Languages and Cultures requires that you take the placement test for the following foreign language courses: American Sign Language, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean and Spanish.

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