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Understanding Course Search

Learn how to search for a course, how to use the advanced search, what to do if you get no results, and understand what the new delivery methods are.

How To Search For A Course

1) Sign in at www.byui.edu.

A screenshot of the BYU-Idaho home page header navigation that shows a Sign In button on the right side of the top of the screen.

2) Click on “Registration” at the top right of the screen.

A screenshot of the header navigation in my BYUI, with the link Registration circled.

3) If you are directly accessing through the student.byui.edu click on the STUDENT tab.

The screenshot shows the header navigation inside my BYUI with the button that says Student circled.

4) Scroll down until you see the “Add/Drop Courses” and click on it. Make sure the “Term” is the correct semester you’re wanting to add classes for.

The image shows an Add or Drop Courses option and a semester drop-down menu.

5) After you click on “Add/Drop Courses,” scroll down until you see “Course Search.” It should look like this:

The image shows a course search page with drop-down fields for the desired school term, delivery method, subject, course title, course code, and an exclude waitlist courses option. A button is at the bottom that says search. Advance search link is below the search button.

6) Search by Course Code.

There are multiple ways to search for courses. The most effective way to search for specific courses is by only searching by the “Course Code.”

In explaining multiple ways to search of a class, the image shows the course code option selected with a course code of ENG 150, which stand for English 150.

Please note the difference between Course Title and Course Code (e.g: "Career Exploration" is the course title and "GS100" is the course code)

7) Adjusting Search Criteria.

The image shows the course code selection of ENG 150. The exclude waitlist courses option is also selected, followed by search button and advanced search link below.

  • You can change the class type to either online or day.
  • You can also choose to search by general subject or course title.
  • To see only courses with open seats you can click on "exclude waitlisted courses."

Please note that searching by too many criteria will show no results.

8) Click on "Search" and See the Results.

Course Search Terms

When looking for a course that you want to add to your schedule you might find a couple of terms that you are not familiar with. The most common question terms are the following:

1) Seats in a class:

The first number that appears is the number of seats available and the number to its right is the total number of students allowed in that section. These are some examples of different situations:

  • 6/30 - means that there are six seats available
  • -2/25 - the class is full and two extra students have been allowed to add the class
  • 0/48 - the class is full and there are no available seats. You may be able to waitlist the class.

2) Staff Instructor:

A common question is when the instructor display shows "Staff" instead of the name of an instructor. This is because the department is still looking for an instructor for that specific section.

3) Status of a course:

There are different types of statuses that the course may have.

  • Open: The course has available seats
  • Closed: The course is full and there are no seats available and there is no waitlist.
  • Reopened: The course was closed but more seats have become available.
  • Waitlist Only: The course is full but you may waitlist the class.

How To Use Advanced Search

One of the tools you can also use to find courses you want to take is using "Advanced Search." Remember that this tool will also show no results if you search by too many criteria.

The image shows the advanced search link circled below the search button.

Here is a breakdown of each criteria in the Advanced Search Tool and how it can help you. We recommend using one or two of the advanced search tools at a time.

In the advanced search method, you can add more details to your search. The delivery method option allows you to search for classes that are either blended, in-person, flexible, professionally mentored, etc. A method field allows you to search for classes that are lectures, labs, or student teaching. The instructor option allows you to search for a specific instructor. The building field allows you to find classes that are located in a particular building. The time section has a field called "From" and "To". These fields allow you to search for classes that are held during a specific period of time. A Days options allows your to select specific days during the week that classes are available. Finally, a section status field allows you to select courses that are open or full.

What To Do If There Are No Results?

Sometimes, when searching for a course, it will show you no results (see below).

The image says "There was no data for the specified criteria." This shows a message you will receive if your course search does not bring up matched results.

Check a couple of things before determining that the course is not available for this semester.

1) Try searching only by "Course Code" again.

The image shows the course search page and the course code option is highlighted with a different course code. for a different class.

2) Find the correct course code by searching the course name in the Academic Catalog or use the new course code at the top to find the class. You can verify if you were using the wrong course code by scrolling to the bottom, it will display the old course code.

Search the course.

The image shows a list of course names with the course codes. You can find the course codes by searching for the course title.

Find the new course code...

The image shows a selected course new course code. In this example it is GECIV 100 American Heritage.

... and scroll to the bottom to verify the old course code.

Course Delivery Methods

A delivery method communicates where and how students will be taught. Some delivery methods are only available to specific student types.

F-1/J-1 International Students - Please note that only In-Person, Blended, and Professionally Mentored classes count as on-campus credits for maintaining your status.
icon of a computer and phone on a red background
Online
Classes will be taught online (asynchronous) with digital course materials such as video lectures.
Location: Off-campus
Student type: Online and Campus students
icon of a student behind a desk and cell phone on a purple background
Blended
Classes will be taught In-Person or Virtual Live (synchronous) with additional Online components. Students should be available on the days and hours listed in the class schedule.
Location: On-campus
Student type: Campus students only
icon of a business building and a person on a gray background
Professionally Mentored
Students will be taught by mentors in a learning environment applicable to their degree. Typically used for internships, student teaching, and practicums.
Location: Employment or mentoring location
Student type: Online and Campus students
icon of a computer with an instructor and students on a zoom call
Virtual Live
Classes will be taught entirely in LIVE (synchronous), online sessions (using Zoom or similar tools) on the days and hours listed in the class schedule.
Location: Off-campus
Student Type: Campus students only
icon of several students sitting at desks against a blue background
In-Person
Classes will be taught on-campus on the days and hours listed in the class schedule.
Location: On-campus
Student type: Campus students only
icon of several students sitting at desks and a computer with students participating in a zoom call
Flexible (In-Person or Virtual Live)
Classes will be taught In-Person and virtual live. In coordination with the instructor, students choose which class location works best for them.
Location: On-campus OR Off-campus
Student type: Campus students only