Course Enrollment

Course Enrollment Information for Faculty

The Kennedy School course enrollment process consists of four phases - an online enrollment period, a single-round of bidding for oversubscribed courses, an online add/drop period, and finally an off-line, or paper, add/drop period. The main points and phases of the enrollment process, including the bidding process, are highlighted on the Office of the Registrar’s web site. Faculty receive an email from the Registrar each semester outlining the relevant specific dates.

Registration

SPARKS (the self service web site for HKS students)
During the registration period students logon to the SPARKS and may request up to five credits (including cross-registered and reading and research courses) that they wish to take. They may change their selections at any time during the registration period. Details on registration for students can be found on the Office of the Registrar's web site.

The Bidding Process

Students who have selected an oversubscribed class during online enrollment will be informed by the Registrar via email that they have the option to bid on the course. Students are given an endowment of points per academic year to use during the bidding process. The endowment is determined by a student’s expected year of graduation and program. Details: See the section on point allocations for more information.

Online Add/Drop

After the bidding period a two-day online add/drop period on SMART opens for non-oversubscribed courses only, allowing students to revise their schedules. Please note that online add/drop is first come, first serve. Students should check the course capacities for these classes often to determine space availability.

Paper Add/Drop

Students who wish to add or drop courses after the online add/drop period need to complete and submit a paper petition form. The paper petition requires the signatures of the student, instructor(s) and program director. Students are admitted at the instructor’s discretion during the paper add/drop process.

Cross Registrants

Non-Kennedy School students must fill out a hard copy “cross registration petition”, signed by the faculty member to register in a Kennedy School course. Cross registration petitions should not be signed until after the on line Add/Drop period is over, and not until after the Kennedy School course roster has been reviewed. Signing cross registration petitions before knowing if all Kennedy School students who want to take the course have a place leads to more signed petitions than there are seats in the class.

January Classes

The course enrollment process is the same in both fall and spring semester classes. Enrollment in January classes takes place in November. More information about specific enrollment dates are made available during the fall semester.

Class Lists

Class lists (Rosters) are generated by the Registrar's Office and may be accessed by faculty and their staff assistants via the intranet. The list will include cross registrants, but it will not include students registered under the other school’s number in the case of jointly listed courses. During online enrollment, bidding, and online add/drop course rosters are constantly changing as students are adjusting their schedules. Faculty can get the best idea of where their roster stands after the close of the online add/drop period.

Class Lists for Jointly Listed Courses. If the course is jointly listed with another school, the instructor will receive a separate list of the students registered under the other school's number from that school's registrar. For instance, PAL-115 is jointly listed as Govt. 1540. The faculty member receives one class list from the HKS Registrar for all students (including cross registrants) enrolled under PAL-115, and a second class list from the FAS Registrar for all students (including a different set of cross registrants) enrolled under Gov. 1540. Hence the faculty do not receive one fully integrated list of all students registered in the course under all numbers. See also Grade Sheets for information on submitting the grade list and changing a grade.

Auditors

With the excepton of National Security Fellows and Lee Kuan Yew Fellows (see below), whether or not to accept auditors in a course is entirely up to the instructor. Note, however, that if there are more students who wish to take the course than there are available slots, auditors will be the first to be eliminated. Auditors do not formally enroll in classes; the Registrar's office keeps no records of any kind of auditing or auditors. Hence their names do not appear on class rosters or grade sheets. Nor is the auditing of a course recorded on the student's transcript. It is perfectly permissible for the instructor to require auditors to participate fully in course activities, including completing all assignments.

National Security Fellows
For course enrollment purposes National Security Fellows are given the same access to classes as degree program students. National Security Fellows are senior officers in the US armed services who have had roughly 20 years of experience, and who come to the Kennedy School for a year of advanced study. Typically the group numbers 20 or more. National Security Fellows will not, however, appear on the class list.

Lee Kuan Yew Fellows
For course enrollment purposes Lee Kuan Yew Fellows are also given the same access to classes as degree program students. Named for the former Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, these Midcareer officials from various Asian countries attend Kennedy School classes during the fall semester. The LKY Fellows are candidates for the degree of Master in Public Management (MPM) at the National University of Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. The Kennedy School component is part of that school's MPM curriculum. At the Kennedy School, the LKY Fellows Program is part of the Kennedy School's Singapore Program. LKY Fellows are included on the Class Roster.