Course Overrides 

Students may occasionally see a registration error when they try registering for classes. Examples of these errors could include time conflict, major or minor restriction, or size capacity. A course override could remove one or more of these restrictions, which would allow a student to bypass the error and successfully register. Each unit manages their own processes for considering, or not considering, course overrides. See below for unit-specific information on requesting a course override.

Unit

URL

Appeal Information

Arts

N/A

Please contact your academic advisor in the School of the Arts for more information on requesting a course override.

Business

School of Business Override Form

If you are a non-Business major who wants to register for a restricted School of Business course, please complete the linked Google form. The School of Business does not provide overrides into closed sections of courses. If the course is full, we recommend using the waitlist function in eServices or continually checking for openings through the add/drop period.

If you are a School of Business major, please contact your academic advisor in the School of Business for more information on requesting a course override.

For all other override-related questions or concerns, please contact Undergraduate Studies in the School of Business at usib@vcu.edu.

Dentistry

N/A

Please contact your academic advisor in the School of Dentistry for more information on requesting a course override.

Education

School of Education Override Form

This form is to request access to a course in the following subject areas: ADLT, ADMS, CLED, ECSE, EDLP, EDUC, EDUS, ENED, IDDS, READ, SEDP, and/or TEDU.

Override Requests need to be submitted in a timely manner for review and processing. Override requests received after noon on the last day to add/drop classes, will not be reviewed. Late submissions of requests will not justify late adds into classes after add/drop ends.

It is the student's responsibility to add the class to their course schedule should the override be approved and processed.

For additional questions about override requests (including MATH 361, MATH 362, and MATH 303), please contact Karen Meister, Senior Academic Advisor, at soeadvising@vcu.edu.

Engineering

N/A

Overrides in the College of Engineering are initiated through consultation with the departmental advisors for the unit. Please contact engradvise@vcu.edu for further referral.

H&S (MASC) https://forms.gle/VScccTxtmBsx4iuBA Students must allow at least 7 business days for review and processing of their override request. It is Robertson's policy that overrides are not given to closed sections if seats remain in another section of the same class. Students may not be issued an override into their preferred section based on the seat availability should they meet enrollment requirements. Students are responsible for knowing the requirements for enrollment such as prerequisites and GPA requirements. Once an override is issued, a student must register themselves for the class on eServices. If denied an override, students will be notified via their VCU email.
H&S (SOCI) N/A Please contact your academic advisor for more information requesting a course override.

Health Professions

Health Professions Curriculum 

Overrides are not available for CLRS (Radiation Sciences) or MLS (Medical Laboratory Sciences) courses. Registration is only available to admitted students.

Online sections of ALHP courses are restricted to Health Services majors and minors. Overrides are given on a space available basis towards the end of each semester (e.g. December and May). In person courses are open to all interested students.

Humanities & Sciences

N/A

Override policies vary by department within the College of Humanities and Sciences. If the specific department you want to know about is not listed below, please contact your academic advisor for assistance.

Humanities & Sciences (ARBC, AFAM, AMST, ANTH, CHIN, CIJS, FLET, FREN, FRLG, GRMN, GSWS, HIST, INTL, ITAL, LING, NEXT, PHIL, RELS, RUSS, SETI, SPAN, WRLD)

Humanities Override Request Form

Please submit the request form for all courses with the four-letter prefix of ARBC, AFAM, AMST, ANTH, CHIN, CIJS, FLET, FREN, FRLG, GRMN, GSWS, HIST, INTL, ITAL, LING, NEXT, PHIL, RELS, RUSS, SETI, SPAN, or WRLD.

Humanities & Sciences (BIOL)

Department of Biology Override Requests

VCU's Department of Biology administers overrides for most biology courses (listed as BIOL or BIOZ in eServices) through the Undergraduate Advising Office. Students seeking an override into a biology course must use the online override form to submit their requests. Most course and override types are processed through our forms.

Humanities & Sciences (ENGL)

N/A

Override requests can be made either by directly contacting the instructor or via the department advisor, Dr. Cole Cridlin (cridlinc@vcu.edu).

The department does not approve size override requests for general education courses, creative writing courses, or writing courses.

Humanities & Sciences (FRSC)

Department of Forensic Science

The forensic science department generally does not provide overrides. Course overrides are granted rarely due to most FRSC classes having strict course capacities.

Humanities & Sciences (HPEX)

N/A

The Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences does not provide course overrides.

Humanities & Sciences (MATH, OPER, STAT)

Department of Statistical Sciences and Operational Research Override Requests

Please completely fill out the override request form. You must include your full V-number and your complete VCU email address. For classes with multiple sections you may list all of the sections that you can take on the form, in your priority order. If you need overrides for more than one course, please complete the form multiple times, once for each course.

If you are requesting an override because there are currently no open seats in a section, those will be reviewed to see if additional students can be added.

If you are requesting an override because you received a “Prerequisite Not Met” error when trying to register for a class in eServices, use the Additional Comments box to explain in detail how you have alternatively satisfied the prerequisite.

If you are requesting an override for any other reason, please elaborate completely in the Additional Comments box.

Humanities & Sciences (PHYS)

Physics Override Requests

If you are requesting a prerequisite override, please submit the Google form.

If you are requesting a size override into a closed section, please email Jeannie Friedrich at jlfriedrich@vcu.edu.

Humanities & Sciences (PSYC)

Department of Psychology Advising

The psychology department generally does not grant course overrides. Please visit our website for additional information.

Life Sciences

N/A

Please contact your academic advisor in VCU Life Sciences for more information on requesting a course override.

Nursing

N/A

Please contact your academic advisor in the School of Nursing for more information on requesting a course override.

Social Work

N/A

Please contact your faculty advisor in the School of Social Work for more information on requesting a course override.

University College

N/A

Please contact your faculty advisor in University College for more information on requesting a course override.

Wilder

Wilder School Override Requests

Please submit the Wilder School's override request form.