Course Search: Planning & Registration

Starting with Summer and Fall 2025, Students will plan and register for courses in Vergil.

The release of the Vergil Student Registration Engine includes enhancements to Vergil Course Search to include Registration functions, allowing Students to: 

  • Register for Classes and Drop Sections
  • Apply to or Join Wait Lists 
  • Review and Resolve Registration Conflicts 
  • Swap Class Sections 
  • Manage and View Student Planner 

Please review the following before attempting to register for classes or join wait lists: 

  • Confirm that your Registration Appointment for the term is open - the tile at the top of the course Search will be green and state "Your Registration Appointment for Fall 2025 is open."
  •  Sign the Financial Responsibility Statement(FRS) if you have yet to do so. If your FRS is unsigned, you will be unable to register or join waitlists for the term. 

How to Register and Manage Course Registrations

Vergil Course Search previously served as a primary Course Search and Planner tool. Starting Summer and Fall 2025, Course Search will include Course Registration. To Register in Course Search, you must have an active Registration Appointment and have signed the Financial Responsibility Statement: 

  1. Click on the Course you are interested in to expand the list of sections 
  2. Expand the Section you are interested in to view the Registration action and Class Status
A picture of where to locate Registration Buttons and Class Status - Both items are key indicators of a class' availability for registrations

Highlighted above are a few essential Registration buttons that will be visible when the class section window is expanded. These Registration Actions and Class Statuses will change for each class section depending on your:

  • enrollment history,
  • Program/School,
  • Pre-Requisite Requirements,
  • Class Rules,
  • Class Conflicts,

If a Class is Open to you for Registration, you may see: 

If a Class is not open to you for Registration:

The Registration Actions will not be available. Instead, the class will have a 'Restricted' or 'Blocked' Class Status indicating a Registration Conflict or Block. In place of the Registration button(s) will be a message detailing the reason you are unable to register for the Class section.

For more information on the various Registration Conflict Messages, click here

 

Dropping Registered Class sections has been simplified. To Drop a section you are registered for: 

  1. Expand the Class Section to view the Class Section you are registered for 
  2. Click on the 'Manage Registration' button 
  3. Click the 'Drop' button to drop the Class Section
  4. Click 'Confirm Drop'

 

Please Note: Dropping a Class may impact your Billing and Financial Aid Rewards. 

the Steps to successfully drop a class highlighted by numbered yellow arrows pointing to a visual reference of each step.

When you are registered for one section of a Course, a 'Manage Registration' button will be accessible on the class section that you are registered for and an orange message will be visible on the other class sections of that course stating: "You are already registered for another section of this course."

There are Black arrows on the screen pointing to the Manage Registration button on the class information window and the planner that is visible.

To Swap to another section: 

  1. Expand the Class Section to view the Class Section you are registered for 
  2. Click on the 'Manage Registration' button 
  3. Click the 'Swap Sections' button to drop the Class Section
  4. Click the blue 'Swap' button 
  5. Confirm the 'Swap to Section #.' 
This image contains yellow numbered arrows illustrating the steps to swap the class sections starting with step number 1 to step #6

Joining and Applying to Wait Lists

Instructor Managed Wait Lists may have a required application consisting of a file upload or text entry response to a question. 

To Join an Instructor Managed Wait List: 

  1. Click on 'Apply to Join Wait List'
  2. Review the Wait List Instructions and Submit the required materials 
  3. Click 'Proceed with Wait List Application'
This image illustrates the steps to Apply for an Instructor Managed wait list with numbered yellow arrows to align with the steps

You will have the option to Join a Wait List:

  • When a Class is full and has an Autofill Wait List for interested Students. If you are on this on this list, you will be automatically enrolled into the class once space becomes available depending on your wait list position. 

  • When a Class has an Instructor Managed Wait List without a required application. 

This image contains three arrows: one points to the Class section, the other to the Join Wait List button, and a third to the Proceed to Join Wait List Button

Resolving Registration Conflicts and Blocks

My Account has a Hold: 

If you account has a Hold, you will be unable to Register for classes until the Hold is resolved. To resolve the Hold on your account, click on the 'Resolve My Hold' button on the Banner Notification in Vergil. This will take you to the appropriate pages where you can get assistance resolving it. 

How will I know I have a Hold on my account: 

To identify whether there is a hold on your account, look for these two indicators: 

  • A Holds Banner will be visible on your Dashboard and across the top of every Vergil page you visit. 
    • The Banner states that "There is a Hold on your record that is blocking registration. Please resolve your Hold(s)  in order to proceed'
  • No Registration Buttons will be available to you in Course Search. This means that you will be unable to Register for any new Class sections, join/apply for wait lists, etc.  
This image contains a few colorful callouts to identify and label the Holds Banner, The Financial Responsibility Tile, the lack of Registration Buttons, and the Financial Responsibility notice on your Registration Appoint Tile

I Have Not Signed My Financial Responsibility Statement: 

Each year Students are required to sign and acknowledge the Financial Responsibility Statement. This document simply states that you are aware of and accept the defined costs of your Term Bill. 

How do I Sign My Financial Responsibility Statement: 

To Acknowledge and Sign your Financial Responsibility Statement, simply:

  • Click on the yellow Financial Responsibility Statement tile, referenced in the image above,  to navigate to the page where you can read and sign the document for the year. This tile will be visible on the header of every page that your visit in Vergil. 

If you have any additional questions and cannot find the information on the Help Site, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected]

 

Supporting conflict banners and messages will be available on classes that you are unable to register for.

Conflict Banners will appear above the course search page, planner, and My Schedule/Registration pages and will include information on: 

  • Corequisites that you have not yet registered for  
  • Signed/Unsigned Financial Responsibility Statement
  • Registration Appointment Status and Dates

Clicking on the Banner will display more information or take you to a page where it can be resolved. 

Please note that if you have a banner for an upcoming Registration Appointment, Holds on your account, or unsigned Financial Responsibility Statement(FRS), you will only be able to plan out your semester schedule. Registering to class and joining wait lists will be unavailable until the Registration Appointment is active, the Hold has been resolved, or the FRS has been signed.

Details on managing Holds, signing the FRS, and Registration appointments can be found here: https://sishelp.sis.columbia.edu/vergil_student_registration#cu_accordion_item-2621

 

This image highlights the possible banners(financial Responsibility Statement, Registration Appointment) that will be displayed in the overhead section of Vergil. The banners will be visible until resolved.

Conflict Message(s): 

Conflict Messages will be displayed on the class details page and by the distinguishing 'Restricted' Class Status. More information on Class Statuses can be found here - https://sishelp.sis.columbia.edu/content/vergil-planner-meaning-class-statuses

Certain scenarios that may prompt a conflict message are: 

  • Incomplete Prerequisite Requirement(s) 
  • Unmet Class Rules 
  • You schedule contains the max allowable credits, wait list and class credits, or number of wait lists 
  • The class your are interested in meets at the same time as one you are registered for already

In many of these cases, with the exception of unmet class rules and incomplete prerequisites, you can modify your wait list and immediately register for the class if no other conflict(s) exist. 

This image contains purple arrows pointing to example conflict messages available to students on course search and planner pages. It also highlights Restricted class status marked by a green box.