How Do I Enroll in a Course?
Stanford students enroll in courses through Axess. Axess offers you two different options for course enrollment: SimpleEnroll and Enroll (Alternate). Check out the Registrar pages below for step by step instructions for each option.
Registrar's guide to SimpleEnroll
Registrar's guide to enrolling via Enroll (Alternate)
Prior to enrollment, students are encouraged to peruse their options on Explore Courses or Navigate Classes. Read through the overall guide to Enrolling in Classes, as it answers a lot of common questions about how to use Axess. Even before you are able to enroll, you can use the Study List Planner in Axess or plan a schedule in SimpleEnroll to remember classes and consider what your week might look like. And don't forget to check the final exam schedule as you finalize your study list.
Note that for almost all classes, you are the only person who can add, drop, or change your enrollment in Axess. Professors cannot do this for you, although you will sometimes need to request a permission number from them before you can enroll in certain classes. Your Academic Advisors cannot change your course enrollment either, although they can help talk you through your enrollment decisions.
There are only a few courses whose enrollment you can't control yourself. The main exceptions you will encounter are PWR courses and COLLEGE courses, for which enrollment is administered by the PWR and COLLEGE offices, respectively. (See also: Can I change my COLLEGE or PWR course?) In addition, IntroSems require students to apply in advance for priority enrollment: if you are accepted, you will be automatically enrolled in the class. (You can then choose to drop the class yourself if you wish.) After priority enrollment ends, students can generally check the list of IntroSems with space available and add or drop an open IntroSem as they wish.
Remember, you are responsible for knowing what courses are on your study list (your schedule of enrolled classes). Therefore, whenever you make a change to your study list, check again afterwards to make sure the change went through. And before an enrollment deadline (such as the Final Study List Deadline in Week 3 or the Course Withdrawal and Change of Grading Basis Deadline in Week 8) always, always double-check your study list to make sure that everything is as you think it is.