How to collect student course requests
Give each student the list of courses their grade can take, ask them to rank their choices and name alternates, and set a firm deadline. Check prerequisites and required courses as requests come in. Then clean the data before the build, because a master schedule is only as good as the requests behind it.
Updated October 2026
What is a course request?
A course request is a student’s statement of what they want to take next year. The master schedule is built to place as many of them as it can.
Requests also decide how many sections each course needs. Required courses are often entered for students, and students choose their electives.
When should schools collect course requests?
Most schools collect course requests in the winter and build the schedule in the spring. Closing requests early leaves time to adjust sections and staffing before the build starts.
Set one deadline and hold it. Requests that arrive after the build has started are the ones most likely to go unplaced. The master schedule timeline shows where this fits in the year.
How do schools collect course requests?
Most schools use one of four methods: paper forms, counselor meetings, request entry in the student information system, or an online form.
Whatever the method, each request should carry the same few things:
- The student’s ID, name and next year’s grade
- The course, by the same code the master schedule uses
- A rank, so the most important requests are placed first
- Alternates for electives, in case a first choice is full or collides
- The term, for courses that run only part of the year
nOS takes requests three ways: from your student information system, from a spreadsheet, or from its own request form. Many system connections don’t carry course requests, so a spreadsheet or the form is the usual route.
Should students rank their choices and list alternates?
Yes. Ranks tell the build what matters most to each student, and alternates give it somewhere to go when a first choice can’t be met.
In nOS, ranks decide what is scheduled first. An alternate only fills in when a first choice can’t be met, and alternates don’t count against fulfillment. A choose-one group such as “AP Biology, AP Chemistry or AP Physics” counts as one request and is filled with any one of the three. The high school page covers these in more detail.
How does the nOS request form work?
Share one link. Students enter their ID, name and grade on their own phone, with no account, and see only what their grade can take. Prerequisites and “any one of these” groups are checked before they can submit.
Answers come into the workbook in one reviewed step, with each student’s ranks, alternates and chosen term. A student who changes their mind submits again, and nOS keeps the latest. The form has no counselor approval step.
Choose your courses
Enter your student ID, name, and grade to see the courses you can choose. Due February 20, 2027.
Not sure of your student ID? Ask your counselor.
Hi Ava Diaz · grade 9
Choose 6 courses. Then put them in order. Your first pick is scheduled first.
Required for grade 9
Lab science · Rank 1–3 · any one will do 3 of 3 ✓
History
World languages
Arts
You’re all set
Your requests are saved for Ava Diaz.
- English 9 · required
- Algebra I · required
- Biology, Chemistry or Physics
- World History
- Spanish I
- Studio Art
How do you check course requests before the build?
Look for requests that can’t be met while there is still time to fix them. Each of these becomes an unplaced student later if it slips through:
- A course code that doesn’t match any course in the catalog
- A course that isn’t offered to the student’s grade
- A missing prerequisite
- A student with too few or too many requests
- A course with too few requests to run, or far more than its sections can seat
In nOS, the workbook re-checks as you type, and a problem is marked on its cell with the same fix Preflight offers. After the build, every request it could not place comes with a reason, such as “Missing a prerequisite” or “Not offered for this grade.”
Questions about course requests
How many alternates should a student list?
One or two for each elective is usually enough. Alternates matter most for popular electives and courses that run as a single section, where a first choice is most likely to be full or collide.
Can a student change their requests after submitting?
With the nOS request form, yes. The student submits again and nOS keeps the latest answer. Set a deadline so the requests stop moving before the build.
Do students need an account to use the nOS request form?
No. Students open one shared link on their own phone and enter their ID, name and grade. They see only the courses their grade can take.
What if our student information system doesn’t send course requests?
Most connections don’t, so nOS reads current enrollments as a stand-in for next year’s demand. For real requests, import a spreadsheet or use the nOS request form.
Bring next year’s course requests.
Create an account and use the full planner on your own data.