There are many reasons why SOLUS may not let you register for a course. The most common reasons are that you do not have the pre-requisites met for the course, or the course add causes a conflict in your schedule. Another problem for certain students is having approved substitutions for a prerequisite course. If you think you should be allowed to register, obtain a CRRF "Course Registration Request Form" from the Student Counter on the third floor of McLaughlin, complete and hand into the Mechanical Office to the attention of J. Brown who will seek approval and then register you in the course. Always check in SOLUS to make sure the registration is correct and complete.
Missing or Failed First Year Courses
If the course is a prerequisite to courses in the Mechanical Program you must complete it in second year to avoid being required to withdraw and being denied access to courses in the Mechanical Program. In 2011-12 these courses are APSC 100, 111, 112, 171, 172, and 174. Students are typically put on probation in these cases, and it is imperative to follow the stipulations outlined in the letter.
If the course is not a prerequisite you only need to make sure that you complete it sometime before you graduate. Sometimes the scheduling can work out better by leaving a course to third or fourth year when there is more flexibility in the schedule. Still, it is a good idea to catch up from your previous year courses as soon as you can.
Most First year course registration for upper year students cannot be done by the student on SOLUS. Once you have finalized your upper year course schedules take them to the Faculty Office, Rm. 300, Beamish Munro Hall and enter the first year courses onto paper forms available from their office the beginning of September. While there, they will assist you in finding suitable time slots for the first year courses that do not cause conflicts with your upper year courses. Once complete by the student, drop off at the MECH main office to the attention of J. Brown who will seek approval from the Chair or Year Advisor, then return to the Faculty Office for processing. It is always important to check SOLUS to ensure the course(s) have been added correctly.
Refer to the MME First and Second Year Course Summary for the Class of 2014 for the academic year 2011-12 which outlines what courses are pre- or co-requisites with each other. This will aid in knowing what you can take and how it affects your upper year course program and schedule.
Missing or Failed Upper Year Courses
All required courses for your program and option, and the EPT (English Proficiency Test), must be completed before you graduate. When taking a non-typical course load, try to plan carefully to avoid spending longer time meeting the requirements for your degree, but realize that this can often mean taking courses out of their normal year order. Perhaps the student will take more complementary studies or technical elective courses in their third year and more core courses in their fourth. Note that some of the complementary studies courses are offered through correspondence over the summer, and this is a good way to catch up if the students summer allows and the student desires.
If the course is a prerequisite to a required course, or an elective that you choose to take, you will need to pass the course that is the prerequisite before consideration is taken to take the other course. This can be especially problematic with long chains of prerequisites like MECH 228 > MECH 328 > MECH 350 > MECH 456. It is important to plan out carefully your remaining time at Queen's to sort out how you will fit in all the requirements all while trying to take the courses that you choose to take. If you run into core conflicts, you may want to consider taking another course as a substitution that has been approved prior to registration..
Failed technical elective courses or complementary studies courses need not be repeated, but must be replaced by different courses so long as their criteria meets your program requirements.