Force Add Procedures

·      Student is unable to request a CS course (or Math 2534) during the Course Request period due to an incorrect prerequisite error.

·      Student is using an approved alternate equivalent prerequisite course that is not recognized in drop/add (ex. ECE 2514 for CS 1114, CS 1054 for CS 1114, etc.)

·      Student did not earn a C or better in a CS course in the prior semester and needs to repeat the course.

·      In the rare instance that students are receiving erroneous major/minor restrictions for CS courses and they clearly meet the restrictions (officially declared as a CS, DCC, SC major or in the CS or HCI minor). Students preparing to change their major and/or intending to declare the minor are not considered to be meeting the major/minor restriction.

Graduating seniors will receive priority for CS capstone courses and are contacted directly to facilitate that enrollment. Seniors are highly encouraged to respond to messaging and follow-through on force-add requests as soon as possible. 

Please note that instructors cannot override force/add decisions made by the department, so please do not approach your instructor for special permission to get into their course. If you have questions about a force/add request, CS majors or minors should contact their CS academic advisor.

• Requests are processed in priority order, so some requests may remain pending while higher-priority requests are processed.
• There are a number of factors that determine priority including classification, semester of graduation, and when the request was submitted.

• Submitting a force-add request is not a guarantee that the student will be added to a course. There are a variety of factors that go into the decision for a force-add request.
  

• If a student is forced-added into a course, but later drops the course, the student will not be force-added into the course a second time. Also, if a student is force-added into a specific section of a course, the student will not later be able to request a different section of the same course. Our priority is helping each student to get a seat and the department cannot faciliate schedule changes through force-add.
  

• Even if a student submits a force-add request for a CS course, the student should still continue to try to add it through the drop/add mechanism when it is available. Drop/Add & Course Request Dates

• This force-add form is for undergraduate students only. Graduate students seeking to add a course should contact the CS Graduate Program Office for more information at (540) 231-6932.

• Requests from CS Minors may be denied if the student already has enough courses to complete the CS minor.
• CS Minors must meet all of the prerequisites to enroll in CS courses. 
• Not all CS courses will be available for minors to enroll, particularly high-demand courses specifically required for CS, DCC, and SC majors to complete their degree.

• If a student is taking a prerequisite course outside of VT, the systems that govern course request and add/drop will not have this information and will not allow a student to enroll in courses for which the prerequisite has not been satisfied (or in progress at Virginia Tech). 
• Students that choose to take prerequisite courses outside of Virginia Tech are unable to enroll in subsequent courses until a final grade of C or better is received. A grade of C or better in the course taken outside of VT is required since only courses with grades of C or better can transfer into VT for course credit.
• While every effort is made by the Department to assist students in enrolling in the courses that they need to follow their degree plan, we are unable to reserve seats for students or force/add them into courses for which there is no documentation of a passing grade in the prerequisite(s) course(s).  
  
• Students with questions as to how this will impact their registration are encouraged to reach out to their academic advisor. 
  

Some CS courses are already open to maximum capacity on the timetable and do not have additional space for force-adds. Those courses are not included on the CS force-add form. Students should monitor drop/add regularly for an opening in the course. 

• If you are a student outside of the CS/DCC/SC Major or CS/HCI Minor who is facing a registration error for a CS course that is required for your major/minor, please contact csundergrad@cs.vt.edu.
• Students not facing registration errors, but simply want to enroll in a course that has reached enrollment capacity, should continue to monitor the drop/add system for an opening if the course is not included on the force-add form.