Course Bidding Tips and Tricks
After reading the below tips, you may find it helpful to view our
Course Bidding - Sample Bids & Results,
which provides an example of a student's bids and the classes
awarded.
Bidding Basics
Q. How many bid points will I have?
A. You will be allotted 1000 points for Winter 2009
course bidding. Points are not carried over to or from previous
cycles.
Q. How do I get into a course?
A. If you bid enough points to make market clear, a seat
will be reserved for you in that particular section of the course, up to
class capacity. This is provided you do not have conflicts with a
different class for which you bid higher points to earn a seat, and that
you have not already filled your schedule with the maximum number of
credits. The bidding system assigns your classes in order of your bids -
starting with the highest bid.
Q. For how many courses can I bid?
A. There is no limit to the number of courses for which you can bid. The only limit is your 1000 points.
Q. For how many credit hours can I bid?
A. There is no limit. However - there is
a limit to the number of credit hours for which you will be registered.
- MBA2s & MAccs: You will be scheduled for a maximum of 16.5 credit
hours in the full term, and 10 credits per half (A/B) term. To
determine half term limits, all full term (14 week) class credits
are divided in half. If, for example, you bid for 26.5 credit hours,
the bid system will only accept up to 16.5. Let’s say that you
do not get into two courses for which you made high bids. In
this case, the system will automatically go to the next courses
down, and try to place you there (and so forth), until you've
reached 16.5 credits. Once registration begins after course
bidding, you should go to Wolverine Access to confirm your schedule and
make adjustments (if desired), up to 18 credit hours.
- Senior BBAs: You will be scheduled for a maximum of 15
credit hours. Once
registration begins after course bidding, you should go to Wolverine
Access to confirm your schedule and make adjustments (if desired), up to
18 credit hours.
Q. Historically, what have been final market clear
results for classes?
A. Note: These are not
predictors, but simply information. Use with discretion.
Q. Can I change my bids?
A. You can
return and change your bids as often as you wish during the bidding
period window. We recommend that students NOT wait until the
last minute to place or change their bids.
Bidding Clarifications & Strategies
Q. What if more students bid at market clear than there
is capacity?
A. In this event, an algorithm is used to randomly assign
seats to the tied bidders.
Q. May I bid for more than one section of a course?
A. Yes, you may bid for more than one section of the same course.
However, please note that the system will only place you in the course once
(including waitlists). For example: You bid 50 points for section 001 of
a course and 25 for section 002. Section 001 has a market clear of 70
but section 002 doesn't fill. You will be allotted a seat in section 002
and will NOT be placed on the waitlist for section 001.
Q. I would like to increase my chances of getting a
particular course. What should I do to improve my odds (I'm interested in
any section)?
A. You should bid at least one (1) point on each course,
or each section of a course that you want. In this way, if a
particular section of a course you desire doesn't fill (thereby making the
clear price = 0) you'll secure a spot in the class prior to Wolverine Access
Registration. Note that the system will only place you in the course
once.
Q. If bidding hasn't
started, how can I see what courses will be available for bidding?
A. We will post excel documents listing the available classes before the
start of bidding. You can also go to the University schedule of
classes at
http://www.umich.edu/~regoff/schedule/,
or view the course catalog through
Wolverine Access. The
Winter 2009 schedules will be available on these sites October 20. Note that the graduate-level courses with sections numbered between
451 and 471 are
reserved for our Evening MBA students, and therefore are not part of Course
Bidding.
Q. I bid 200 points for a class on Tuesdays and
Thursdays at 8:30 and I want to bid 150 points for another course on the same
days and at the same time. What happens?
A. If you receive the higher bid course, your lower bid will not
be accepted because of the time conflict. When a higher bid is added to
your schedule, it automatically preempts a lower bid when a time conflict
occurs. Please note that in the instance that you are awarded
the higher bid class, you will NOT be placed on the
waitlist for the lower bid class.
Waitlists
Q. What classes will I be waitlisted for?
A. The bidding system will only waitlist you for classes that fill with
higher bidders. Wolverine Access does not allow us to waitlist students for
a class if they are also enrolled in another section of the course, nor does
it allow us to waitlist students for multiple sections of the same course.
Q. If I’m registered for up to 16.5 (MBA2/MAcc) or 15 (Senior BBA) credits, can I be waitlisted for
additional courses beyond the 16.5 (MBA2/MAcc) or 15 (Senior BBA) credit max?
A. Yes - if the waitlisted courses are in your top bids. If the
system successfully places you into all of your highest bid classes and
reaches the limit of 16.5 or 15 credits, it will NOT place you on waitlists
for classes you bid fewer points for.
Q. Will I be waitlisted for a class that has a time conflict with
another class?
A. Yes - but you will only be waitlisted for the higher bid class.
If you are enrolled in the class you bid highest for, you will not be
placed on the waitlist for the class you bid lower for.
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