Accessing Course Search & Enroll
Public access (available to anyone regardless of admission status)
This link is for browsing purposes only. If you haven’t been admitted, this is a great place to start. You will not be able to enroll in courses through this link.
Admitted student access
If you have been admitted this link will give you access to the Course Search and Enroll app. You will be able to save courses of interest using this link. You can also login to MyUW, then select the Course Search & Enroll widget.
The search tips here can be used in both the public and student class search versions.
Searching for courses
Before you begin your search, choose a term.
Using filters to search
There are many filters you can use to find courses. We have found that searching by subject and/or keywords works best for Senior Guest auditors. We will demonstrate how to use the filters: Subject and Keywords, as well as filtering your search by subject and keywords combined.
Seats filter
It is recommended that you select all three of the seat options for the Seats filter. Please note, just because a class indicates it is open does not mean you will be granted permission to enroll.
Search by subject filter
As an example, Ace Auditor is interested in astronomy courses. He starts with a search by the subject astronomy to find all courses offered for the term in that department. He has selected all the seat options (Open, Wait listed, Closed) as we recommend.
Search by subject and keywords filters together
Next, Ace enters the keywords black holes, as he is interested in this particular topic within astronomy. This narrows down the search to courses that have “black holes” in the title or description.
Search by keywords filter
Annie Auditor heard about a food systems class but she doesn’t know the exact name or the department title. She can search for food system courses using the keyword search and leaving the subject filter blank. This brings up classes that include her keywords across many different departments.
Examples of other terms you can use for a keyword search:
- Instructor name
- Class title
- Course descriptions
For hints on how best to use the keyword search, the registrar provides information on Searching with keywords.
Accessing more course information
Annie has found a course she would like to audit. She selects that course by clicking on it. There she can read the course description.
In order to see class sections, location, and instructor, Annie clicks the blue See sections button.
This course has only one section. By clicking the arrow to the left of LEC 001, Annie can see the days and times the class meets and which classroom it is in.
Ace looks at the sections for Astron 103. This course has two lecture (LEC) sections. From here, he can see the days and times the lectures meet, what room the lectures are in, and the instructor’s name.
In order to find additional information about the course, Ace selects DIS 303 (discussion section 303) for LEC 001, and then clicks the arrow to the left of DIS 303. The instructor’s email address is found here. He will need this for the permission-to-enroll request.
Next steps
After finding a course you would like to audit, please write down all the course information. You will need this information for the permission-to-enroll request form. Make note of:
- Subject and number, e.g. Astron 103
- Section number for lecture, e.g. LEC 1
- Course name, e.g. The Evolving Universe
- Instructor’s name and email address
- Day and time of course
The permission-to-enroll request can be found on our website and is usually available two weeks before the start of the term.
In addition to writing down the information, if you are admitted for the term, you can save courses of interest by logging into Course Search and Enroll using your NetID and password.
Senior Guest auditors enroll the first day of the term.
Resources
Additional information about Senior Guest auditing
Senior Guest auditor FAQ page
Dates and deadlines
Enrollment instructions
Enrollment and course access instructions KB document
Questions? Email seniorauditor@dcs.wisc.edu