Provisional enrolment

What is 'Provisional' status?

The following information applies to Australian Campus students.  If a student is studying offshore, or via a non-Australian Campus, students should contact their campus administration staff for assistance.

Where a student has enrolled into a subject and their enrolment status is showing 'provisional', this means there is another subject that needs to be completed (or to be enrolled in) before the student can enrol in the relevant subject.  There are two types of 'provisional' statuses, they are:
  1. Pre-requisite: these are subjects that need to be passed before a student can enrol into a new subject, for e.g., Sally needs to pass TEST101 before she can enrol into TEST102; and
  2. Co-requisite: these subjects need to be studied at the same time, for e.g., William needs to be enrolled into TEST101 and TEST102 (at the same time) as these subjects compliment each other.

For students 'provisional' requirements of their enrolment, students simply:

  1. Log in to SOLS (generally students will see provisional subjects on their home screen, with a link to apply for a waiver).
  2. Select 'Enrolment / Variations' from the left hand menu; and
  3. Click on the relevant subject code.

If a student believes they have a valid reason for not needing to meet 'provisional' conditions, for e.g., a similar study has been completed external to the University, or if it is determined the 'provisional' status is an error, students can apply for a waiver of the requirements through SOLS. If the student is 'offshore, or studying on non-Australian campuses, requests can be sent to Student Administration via: student-admin@uow.edu.au

Provisional FAQs

Q. What does 'provisional' enrolment mean? 
If a student has enrolled into a subject and their status is showing 'provisional' in SOLS, this means the student has not satisfied all requirements to enrol in that subject, for e.g., Sally needs to pass TEST101 before she can enrol into TEST102.

Q. What is a waiver?
If a student believes they have a good reason for not needing to meet 'provisional' conditions, they can request the requirements be waived. This is called a ‘waiver’.

Q. How does a student apply for a waiver?
Students can apply for a 'waiver' through SOLS. As soon as a student with a 'provisional' status logs into SOLS, provisional subjects will be listed on the main landing screen. To apply, students:

  • Click on the application link; and
  • Follow the link provided in SOLS to submit an application.

If students are not provisionally enrolled in subjects, waiver requests are NOT necessary.

Q. What if a student doesn't apply for a waiver (or if a waiver application is not approved)? 
If a 'waiver' application is declined (or has not been submitted), the student will be removed from the subject before the sessions Census date. Students will receive an explanation (through their SOLS) as to the outcome of their application. 

Q. When can students apply for a waiver?
Opening dates for 'waiver' applications depend on the session the student is enrolling in. Generally they are open slightly before the start of session. Students should remember to check their SOLS homepage for open and close dates.

Q. Who assesses waivers?
Academic staff (in Faculties) assess 'waiver' applications. The assessor may be the Associate Dean, Head of Students or the Head of School.

Q. When are waiver applications assessed?
Each Faculty determines when they will assess 'waiver' applications for their students. Students will receive SOLS update messages when they submit a 'waiver' application. Updates may detail either when Faculty staff will commence processing waiver applications; or when the Faculty has started processing the application.

Q. How do students know if their application has been approved or not?
Students will receive a SOLS mail message advising the outcome of a 'waiver' application. If it is approved, the enrolment will be changed from 'provisional' to enrolled. If the 'waiver' is declined, the student will be removed from the subject by the sessions Census date.

Q. What if a result from a previous session hasn't been released?
Students should await the release of results for previous sessions (where the provisional enrolment is based on the result of the previous subject). If the subject is still provisional, and the deadline for a 'waiver' request is fast approaching, students should contact the AskUOW team for assistance and/or advice.