PERC

PERC: Post Enrollment Requisite Checking

Background

Cal State LA students may register or waitlist for a class in a future term while the prerequisite class is still in-progress (un-graded). For example, fall semester registration starts around the beginning of April each year. Spring semester grades are almost two months away from being assigned at that time. What happens if the student withdraws from the prerequisite class? What happens if the student does not meet the minimum grade required in the prerequisite class?

Fortunately, the student system offers an automated solution for identifying students who do not complete prerequisites and then dropping them from the future term enrollment and waitlists. This process is called “Post Enrollment Requisite Checking,” or PERC.

Processing Timeline

Fall Semesters: PERC is run for Fall Semester enrollment several times during the Summer Session. The first run occurs in mid-June when Spring Semester grades are finalized. It is rerun as summer sessions complete. The last run occurs the week before Fall Semester instruction begins.

Spring Semesters: PERC is run once for Spring Semester enrollment the week before instruction begins. Winter Intersession is still in progress at this time, so those grades are not available for the Spring Semester PERC process.

Summer Session and Winter Intersession: Semester grading overlaps the start of the interim sessions (summer and winter). Without final semester grades, it is not possible to reliably use PERC to drop Summer Session and Winter Intersession enrollment.

Processing Details

  • All sections of courses in careers E, GRAD, and UGRD are reviewed.
  • Enrolled, as well as waitlisted, students are evaluated.
  • All related components of a course (e.g. lab, activity, etc.) are dropped if the prerequisite is not satisfied.
  • Both enrollment and waitlists are dropped if the prerequisite is no longer satisfied by completed coursework.
  • Students who initially enrolled in the course with a permit or student group to override the prerequisite are not dropped since the enrollment was not conditional on completion of an in-progress course.
  • Students are only dropped if the prerequisite is not met or is not currently in progress.
  • Students who received an “I” grade in the prerequisite course would not be dropped since the course is still in progress.
  • The automated waitlist process backfills empty seats where possible. No department action is required to support this.

Student Challenge Process

To ensure a technical error has not occurred, students receive email communication from the Records Office sent to their Cal State LA official email address, notifying them of which enrollments and waitlists are identified for a PERC drop.

  • Students have two business days (48 hours) to challenge prerequisite drops.
  • For a challenge to be successful, the student must demonstrate that an error has occurred causing the PERC drop warning.
  • The Records Office will resolve all confirmed challenges received during the challenge period before processing PERC drops.
  • Once the drop process has completed, departments can allow students to enroll in a course without meeting the prerequisite by issuing a permit.