A4 – Priority Registration

Originator: Vice President, Academic
Approver: Senior Academic Committee
Effective: June, 2020
Replaces: New

1. Preamble

Students’ course schedules are a significant feature of a quality education and skills training experience at RRC Polytech. The registration process through which students receive a course schedule recognizes the principle of fair access as well as priority access to courses for students who are near credential completion. Allowing some students to register before others is a practice that must be justified as fair, ultimately to those last in line and closed out of courses because they are not allowed the privilege of priority registration. This policy defines the categories of priority access for course registration.

2. Policy

Students will generally be assigned registration priority according to their status as a New Student or a Continuing Student. However, other obligations and circumstances, as outlined below, are factored into the assignment of priority for various groups of students.

3. Definitions

New student: a student registering for a particular RRC Polytech program for the first time. Note: A new student is not necessarily new to RRC Polytech, as the student may have been previously enrolled in a different program or Continuing Education at the College.

Continuing student: a student continuing in a program of study moving directly from one semester to the next.

Returning student: a student returning to a program of study after an absence or break of at least one full semester.

Open studies student: a student who registers for a course, for credit, but is not enrolled in an academic program.

Senior Academic Committee (SAC): SAC provides strategic leadership in implementing the Academic Mission of the College. It serves as a forum for discussion and decision-making on issues of academic policy and practice, and is a medium for the sharing of program information. (Guide to SAC, 2018)

4. Procedures

Priority Registration Groups

Students will be granted access to register for courses in the following order of priority:

• Group 1: Priority students (as defined below);
• Group 2: New Students;
• Group 3: Continuing Students;
• Group 4: Returning Students;
• Group 5: Open Studies Students.

Group 1: Priority Students

Priority students include:

• Students with disabilities who have registered with Student Support Services, if priority registration is deemed an appropriate accommodation. Student Support Services will inform Enrolment Services which students will require priority registration.
• Students participating in Co-operative Education programs, if continuing in the program.
• Students (domestic and International) completing Access, Language or other Learning Pathways and with the intention of enrolling in or beginning an academic program in the upcoming term.

The Chair / Program Manager of the Access, Language or Learning Pathway shall contact to the Academic Chair(s) of the program(s) receiving students well in advance of program registration dates in order to reserve an appropriate number of seats in the program. These seats will be held for one week after registration opens, after which they will be opened up to the next registration group.

Group 2: New Students

• Registration time slots for most academic programs will be assigned on First-Qualified, First-Admitted (FQFA) basis, based on date of offer of admission.
• Registration time slots for some programs will be assigned (for high enrollment programs such as Nursing, Business Administration).

Group 3: (Priority) Continuing Students

• Registration time slots are priority assigned based on a higher number of overall, completed credit units and higher RRC Polytech cumulative grade point average.
• International and (credit) transfer students who have advanced credit for the program to which they are applying.

Group 4: Returning Students

• Registration time slots are assigned based on a higher number of overall, earned credit units and higher RRC Polytech cumulative grade point average.
• If a returning student originally left the program for a medical or compassionate reason, or another authorized reason, Deans will have discretion to deem the student a Continuing Student for the purposes of this policy.

Group 5: Open Studies Students

• Registration time slots for open studies students will be opened after the registration period for New, Continuing and Returning Students.

The College may amend these procedures in instances where the Senior Academic Council has determine that a particular student or group of students merits higher-priority registration. The College reserves the authority to make such determinations as required.

The Priority Registration Policy will be reviewed annually for the first three (3) years following its initial implementation to ensure the principle of equal access and its implementation procedures are aligned.

Related Policy And Legislation 

A1 – Application and Admission to College Programs
A2 – Criminal Record Checks
A3 – Auditing Courses
A20 – Requirements for Graduation
A28 – Academic Accommodation
A12 – Issuing of College Credentials