Override Requests

All Registration Permits, Prerequisite Waivers, and Closed Class requests are submitted by students through Banner. The Registrar provides an instructional video to guide students through the process (Registration Guide). An explanation of the error and their resolution are outlined here (Registration errors).  If a resolution requires an override from the BMS department, click on the link at the bottom of the Banner webpage you are taken to when an enrollment error is generated (Registration Override Request) to submit a request. Requests from the previous day are sent to the BMS department where they are addressed in the manner outlined below.

As the BMS department denies requests to enroll in closed class sections (see below) students should check Banner on the Monday after tuition is due and the Wednesday after finals as grades are posted. Tuition deadlines are posted on the Registrar’s website.

Repeat Limit

Repeat limits are not resolved by the BMS department.  If you are taking a class for the third time (or more), you must download the Repeat Limit Approval form and get the appropriate signatures. Your advisor's signature is required for courses in your major. Your advisor's signature AND the signature of the department head of the department of the course are required for courses outside of your major.

Permits: Prior Approval Required

Registration permits on sections of BMS classes.  Sections with permits are identified by clicking on the class CRN in Banner (Registration permit required).  Reasons for these permits are addressed below.

BMS 213 and 309: Permits are placed on these lab classes because the BMS department will not go over capacity due to our concern for student safety in labs (that is the policy for ALL lab sections).  Thus, the BMS department is holding these sections in reserve.  We have a limited number of faculty who can teach these classes so we want all sections to fill before we enroll students in these sections.  Once we enroll students, these sections are still at risk of being cancelled. Students enrolled in these sections should continue to look for open sections to move into rather than being asked to drop the class close to the beginning of the semester.

BMS 391 lab: During the 2021-22 academic year, the BMS department transitioned from BMS 291 lab to BMS 391 lab (a 2 credit hour lab).  BMS 391 requires students complete BMS 290 before they enroll. The BMS department will be enforcing this requirement as the class is designed for students who have completed BMS 290. 

BMS 392, 393, 394 - Lab assistants:  Lab assistants are coordinated by faculty.  Please contact Dr. Shabani (Physiology Lab), Professor Hendricks (Anatomy Lab), or Dr. Cleary (Microbiology Lab) if you are interested.  They will explain the class and submit the override request.  Any student requesting enrollment into these classes will be directed to the faculty member above.

BMS 399 or 499:  Individual BMS faculty work directly with students in these classes. Students should contact a BMS faculty member about the nature of their reading assignments or research they want to do with the faculty member.  Once they have the faculty member’s approval for a particular number of credit hours, students must login to Banner and submit an Override Request for the class (it does not matter which section as the department will provide the override for the appropriate section).  In that request, please include the name of the faculty member and the number of credit hours.  The BMS department will confirm with the faculty member and an override will be generated for the student to enroll in a section of the class. 

BMS 492 Internships: Students interested in internships should contact Dr. Deb Burg early in the process.  The details of an internship must be worked out well in advance of the semester.

Prerequisite Error

Prerequisite errors occur when a student has yet to complete a required class at GVSU (Banner does not have a record the student completed the prerequisite class).  Classes have prerequisites to ensure students learned material required for them to be successful and instructors expect students to remember information from prerequisite classes.  Resolving this error requires a student to enroll in the prerequisite class at GVSU the semester before (if you enroll in the prerequisite in the Fall, you will be able to enroll in the next class in the Winter semester). If you are planning to take the class at another institution, please do NOT enroll in the prerequisite class and drop that class after enrolling in the next class as you will generate a prerequisite error (see Prerequisite Error Report below).  The BMS department will provide overrides for you to enroll in the class but will require evidence by a later deadline that you are enrolled in the prerequisite class (see Evidence of Enrollment below). 

Taking/taken prerequisite class at another institution: For those planning to take an equivalent class at another institution, please submit a Registration Override Request through the link at the bottom of the denial notification page in Banner (once your request to enroll is denied).  In the Comments, indicate the institution where the class will be taken. The BMS department will provide a temporary override to enroll in the class with the prerequisite. The department response to your GVSU email address will include the class a student must enroll in (based upon GVSU Course Equivalencies) and the date you must provide evidence of enrollment to the BMS department.  If that evidence is not provided by the deadline, the override will be cancelled and you will be dropped from the class.  In addition, once students complete the class (final grades are posted to that institution’s Banner), the student must transfer that class credit to GVSU by sending the Registrar an official transcript (please do not send to the BMS department) in order to remain in the class (see Transferring Credit on the Registrar’s Webpage).

Evidence of enrollment: A single screenshot (or cell phone picture) of an unofficial transcript (that institution’s “Banner”) showing in the same image: 1) student’s name, 2) institution, 3) dates the class meets (i.e. 6/5/21 – 8/4/21) and 4) course number must be sent to BMS Registration.  

Prerequisite error reports: Students with prerequisite errors are notified first by email from the Registrar. The BMS department will then send a follow up email asking the student to resolve the error or drop the class. If the student does not address the error by the deadline, the student will be dropped from the course. Any student who enrolls in a prerequisite class to secure a spot in the next course and then drops the prerequisite course will be required to drop the next course before the department will allow reenrollment. For example: if a student enrolls in BMS 208 in the summer and BMS 309 in the fall, but then drops BMS 208, the student will need to drop BMS 309 (or they will be dropped by the BMS department) before receiving the override to reenroll (the BMS department will not go over the capacity of the class for these students as they should have addressed the prerequisite error as described above). In order to reenroll, the student must provide the BMS department with evidence of enrollment in or completion of the prerequisite class at another institution (see Evidence of enrollment above).

 Concomitant labs (BMS 213): If you are unable to enroll in BMS 212, there is no reason to generate an override request for the associated labs (BMS 213).  Students are not required to enroll in the lab at the same time as lecture (you can take the lab in a later semester).  Once you are enrolled in the lecture, you will be able to enroll in an open section of BMS 213.

Other reasons: If a student requests a prerequisite override without taking the prerequisite class elsewhere, they must explain how they will overcome the lack of knowledge from the prerequisite class (taking the prerequisite class at the same time is NOT adequate).  The BMS department will consider your request (chances of approval are low). If you believe a class already completed meets the requirement (but is not equivalent to the prerequisite at GVSU), email a class syllabus to BMS Registration and the BMS department will evaluate the class. 

Closed Class (at capacity)

Capacity overrides: All requests for capacity overrides into lab sections are denied for safety reasons.  For lecture sections, the BMS department will refer all students to the waiting list. We will not even consider closed class permits until after the waiting list has concluded (5pm the Friday before classes begin).