Registering for Courses
Start With a Plan
Before you register, carefully review your degree requirements and make a plan (and a backup plan) that includes all of your required and elective courses. Think ahead beyond the current year to make sure that you're taking any prerequisites now for courses you wish to take in later years.
When planning your studies, keep in mind that you must complete all of your degree requirements within six years of entering the program.
On this page, learn:
- How to find your registration appointment
- How to pay your acceptance deposit (if new to UBC)
- How to pick your courses, build your saved schedules, and register
- How to manage your registration
- How your transfer credits will apply toward your degree requirements
- How a reduced course load can impact certain eligibilities
Find Your Registration Appointment
UBC Enrolment Services will notify you by email—in June/July for the winter session and February for the summer session—once your registration appointment is available in Workday. Your specific registration date and time is determined by your class standing (year level) and cumulative GPA. The higher your average, the earlier your registration date and time will be.
Pay Your Acceptance Deposit If New to UBC
If you were newly admitted to UBC this year, you'll be prompted to pay your acceptance deposit when you accept your offer of admission. Continuing UBC students are not required to pay a deposit prior to registration.
Students must continue to use the Student Service Centre to make changes to their registration for courses taken in the 2024 Summer Session.Registration for the 2025 Summer Session will be done in Workday Student. |
Pick Your Courses and Build Your Saved Schedules
Review your program requirements to see which courses to take and then log in to Workday Student to start building your saved schedules (i.e., your draft timetables).
Video: How to view your course schedule & registration appointment
Video: How to create a saved schedule
Tutorial: Viewing the course schedule
Tutorial: Creating a saved schedule
In Workday, you’ll create saved schedules for each term. If you’re planning to take a two-term course, the course must be added to a Term 1 saved schedule. Be mindful of potential conflicts with courses in your subsequent Term 2 saved schedules.
Workday will allow you to add any courses to your saved schedules, even those for which you do not meet prerequisite, co-requisite, or seat restrictions to register. Review and resolve any alerts and error messages in your saved schedules before you attempt to register. One common alert is Your saved schedule includes course sections that you’re not eligible for. You should expect to see this alert in a Term 2 schedule if you plan to take its prerequisite(s) in Term 1. The alert will disappear once you have registered for the prerequisite(s).
Tutorial: Troubleshooting your saved schedule
Register for Courses
It’s your responsibility to arrange a conflict-free timetable. To help, we’ve broken it all down into simple steps for each year. You'll also receive registration instructions specific to your year by email at least one week before your registration date.
Video: How to view & edit your saved schedule
Video: Alerts from your saved schedule
Tutorial: Registering in courses from a saved schedule
Tutorial: Registering for individual course sections
Find additional tutorials at workday.students.ubc.ca and how-to videos at mybcom.sauder.ubc.ca/workday-student
Register for both terms
When your registration opens, register for both terms – Winter Term 1 (September to December) and Winter Term 2 (January to April), or Summer Term 1 (May to June) and Summer Term 2 (July to August). Courses fill up quickly, so don’t delay. Be sure to register for Term 1 courses first, especially if those courses are prerequisites to courses in Term 2.
Saved schedules and registered courses
Don’t confuse your saved schedules with your registered classes!
You must register for the courses in your saved schedule when your registration opens to officially be in them. If you make changes to your courses after you initially register, be sure that you're making changes to your registered course list and not one of your saved schedules.
Manage your registration
Add, drop, and switch sections in a course
You can make changes to your registered courses without a withdrawal (W) standing on your transcript until the deadline posted on the course schedule. When making changes to your registration, be sure that you’re updating your list of registered courses and not just a worklist.
Important: Review each course section’s withdrawal deadlines carefully. They vary depending on the duration and credit value of the course.
Withdraw from a course with a W standing
If you withdraw from a course after the first withdrawal deadline, a W standing will be noted on your transcript and refunds will be processed according to the tuition refund schedule. You can withdraw with a W standing until the second withdrawal date posted for the section on the course schedule. Beyond then, you cannot drop the course.
If you need to withdraw from a course after the published deadline due to extenuating circumstances, speak with an advisor in the Undergraduate Office (UGO). A change to your registration after the second withdrawal deadline is an academic concession that requires approval from the UGO. Supporting documentation is required.
Impacts of course withdrawal
It is your responsibility to consider the possible impacts of a course withdrawal, and weigh the benefits and disadvantages before making a final decision.
Any of the following may be affected by a course withdrawal:
Course Waitlists
A waitlist may be set up when a course section is full. If you try to register in a course that is full and has a waitlist, you will be added to the waitlist until a seat becomes available for you to register. Adding yourself to a waitlist does not guarantee that you will be able to register in the course. You will only be able to register in the course if you receive an invitation to register once a seat opens. You can add yourself to as many waitlists as you want.
Monitor your email frequently if you are on a waitlist. If a seat becomes available in the course, you will receive an automated email from Workday and will have 24 hours to accept the seat before it is offered to the next student on the waitlist. Make sure that your email is up to date in Workday. You will also receive a notification in Workday containing the same message about your offer to register.
Your chances of getting into a waitlisted course depend on demand, the course itself, and how many students drop it before the add/drop deadline. It is not possible to predict accurately. Students are moved off the waitlists in the order they registered. Please also note that neither advisors nor instructors are able to provide information about your current position on the waitlist. However, you can view the waitlist capacity and the number of students on the waitlist by following the steps in the Checking a course waitlist status and capacity guide. Please do not contact the Undergraduate Office (UGO) to request an improvement in your waitlist position. That said, If you are unable to register for a required Commerce course that cannot be deferred to a future term, you may request registration assistance using the form at mybcom.sauder.ubc.ca/regi-assist. Please note that Commerce instructors cannot register you in their courses. If you meet the valid criteria, the Undergraduate Office will review your request you submitted via the registration assistance form. If you do not meet the valid criteria, we recommend monitoring enrolment regularly for any available seats. For non-Commerce courses, please consult the relevant faculty offering the course to learn the correct procedure for requesting registration. To learn more about waitlists and view step-by-step guides, please visit the Workday tutorials below:Waitlist Movement and Position
Requesting Registration Assistance
Workday Waitlist Tutorials and Guides
Absences
Anticipated absences
If your ability to attend classes or complete coursework and assignments is adversely impacted or if you expect regular or prolonged absences, you should contact an Academic Advisor in the UGO to further discuss your case.
Students with a disability or ongoing medical condition
Students registered with the Centre for Accessibility (CFA) should have their accommodation agreed upon at the beginning of the course between the student, CFA, and the instructor. Students who are not registered with CFA may wish to discuss their case with the Centre or connect with an Academic Advisor in the UGO.
If illness or disability-related reasons interfere with your ability to attend classes or complete coursework and assignment, you should follow the directions provided by your instructors and submit a petition for Academic Concession through the Undergraduate Office (UGO).
Varsity athletes
Varsity athletes should have a letter outlining their Varsity commitments sent to their instructors by UBC Athletics.
Unanticipated absences
If you face unexpected illness or unavoidable responsibilities that impact your ability to fulfil your academic responsibilities, you could be eligible for an academic concession.
Learn more about academic concession
If your situation is related to an experience of sexual violence, you have the option of contacting UBC’s Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office (SVPRO) (604 822 1588) who can assist you with your academic concession.
How does a 'W' affect my academic standing?
Don’t be concerned about having a W standing on your transcript. It simply indicates that you withdrew from a course. Course withdrawals are not included in calculating your sessional, cumulative, or graduating averages. Remember though that you will not receive a full refund of your tuition past the first withdrawal deadline. (Please note if you're accessing resources that have credit requirements, a W may impact your eligibility.)
Are You Eligible to Receive Transfer Credits from AP, IB, or A-Levels?
If your high school studies included Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), or British-patterned education (A-Levels), you may be eligible to receive transfer credit that you can use toward your BCom degree requirements.
Make arrangements to have your final official test results sent directly to UBC Undergraduate Admissions as soon as possible as it may take several weeks from when they are received for credit to be awarded. You may not see transfer credit on your student record until after you’ve registered for your courses. Course withdrawals will not be granted or backdated should any transfer credit be awarded after the course withdrawal deadline.
Transfer credit will be applied toward your degree requirements automatically once it has been granted. You don't need to do anything to activate or use it.
Maintain your eligibility for student loans
Government loans, grants, and interest-free status all require students to be enrolled in at least 60% (80% for Newfoundland loans) of a full-time course load in each term. Given the credit structure of the BCom program, the minimum number of credits you must be enrolled in varies at different year levels. Consult the course load guide at students.ubc.ca to ensure that you meet the requirements to maintain your funding. Note that eligibility to receive scholarships and to live in UBC residence is determined by separate registration criteria.
Impacts of a Reduced Course Load
If you’re thinking about reducing your course load during the winter session (fewer than 30 credits), be mindful of commitments and considerations that require you to be registered in a minimum number of credits to maintain your eligibility.