These instructions are designed to familiarize you with the Booth registration process. Please read the information carefully and refer to the examples for further explanation. As always, contact your program office when you need assistance with registration.
Table of Contents:
Online Registration has two components:
- Registration Bidding System (RBS) - the initial registration round of bidding for a set of course schedules;
- Drop/Add/Swap (DAS) - four (three in Autumn
Quarter) optional follow-up adjustment periods to add, drop, and/or
swap individual courses.
Please refer to the Booth
Academic Calendar for bidding registration deadlines.
The purpose of ORB (Online Registration Bidding) is
twofold: to efficiently and equitably allocate a finite number of
seats in Booth courses to campus, evening, and weekend students on a
quarterly basis; and to permit each student to determine the maximum
number of points they are willing to pay for a schedule or a class.
Instead of standing in line to register for classes, students enter bids online in ORB and their registration bids effectively act as placeholders. A student's place in line is determined by the number of points he or she bids. When demand for a course is high and the course closes, a price is set. Students pay the bid point price for getting a seat in a closed course. If a class does not close, it has no price and no bid points are paid.
2. Registration Bidding System (RBS)
Prior to bidding, each program office will distribute the following information:
- a registration bidding information sheet;
- a course schedule;
- a supplement to the Curriculum Guide.
Students have approximately two weeks to enter their RBS bids in ORB. After RBS closes, ORB reviews all bids to assign seats in specific classes. Once seats are assigned, ORB determines prices for closed classes, then e-mails bid results to students and posts online a summary of bid activity during the round.
Students may bid on up to 4 schedules in the first round of RBS. Each bid may contain up to 4 primary courses and 2 alternates for each primary course. Each course can appear only once in each schedule.
| See a blank RBS Sample Worksheet |
The schedule bids are numbered from 1 to 4. Alternate courses within a schedule bid should be courses that are relatively equal to primary courses in desirability. All bids are arranged by the system in order of bid point amount (from highest to lowest). If a student bids the same amount for more than one schedule, the computer will randomly select a schedule to be the Schedule 1 bid.
1. Go to the Booth Portal: http://portal.chicagobooth.edu and log in
2. Click "online registration" to enter ORB
3. Click the Booth word mark shield to log on
4. Enter your Booth user name and password
5. Be sure to read this warning message: Close the browser after saving
your bid
The
system reads each schedule from left to right across the row, one
row at a time. If one course from each line of a bid is available
at the bid point price determined by the student, the schedule bid
will be successful. ORB no longer considers any remaining bids for
that student once a successful schedule is achieved.
ORB attempts to meet all the conditions for each schedule submitted
by the student. If any line of a bid cannot be satisfied (because
the courses specified are already closed) that schedule bid is unsuccessful.
ORB will reject the entire schedule and move on to another schedule
if it encounters a condition it cannot meet. If none of the student's
schedule bids are successful, he or she does not receive a schedule
and must participate in Drop/Add/Swap (DAS).
On the sample RBS bid worksheet above (Schedule 1), the student's primary course choices are:
| 30000-01 | if 30000-01 is not open when the bid is processed, the student will accept 30000-02 as an alternate; |
| 33001-03 | if 33001-03 is not open,
the student will accept 33001-07; if 33001-07 is not open, the student will accept 33040-01 |
| 41000-01 | if 41000-01 is not open, the student will accept 41000-03. |
CLOSED COURSES AND RBS PRICING
Prices reflect the demand for courses in the market that represent
individual populations of Booth students (e.g. Campus, Evening &
Weekend). The price of a course reflects the greatest "unhappiness"
of those students kept out of the class. If a course does not close
(i.e., no one is kept out; therefore no one is "unhappy"),
no price is set.
ORB reviews the bids of all the students requesting a course that
closes. The price for a closed course is set by 1) identifying the
students who did not get into the course, 2) locating the student
with the greatest bid point difference between the schedule containing
the closed course and the schedule he or she ultimately received and
3) calculating this difference to set the price.
If any courses in a student's schedule close, that student "pays"
points (i.e., points are subtracted from his/her total bid wealth).
The amount he/she pays is either the sum of the prices for all closed
courses in his/her schedule or the total bid for his/her schedule,
whichever amount is lower.
When calculating prices, ORB uses only the closed primary courses
in the unsuccessful bids. Refer to the following pricing examples.
Pricing example 1:
For a course with only one unsuccessful bidder, Student A, the price would be determined as follows:
| Unsuccessful Bid Containing Closed Primary Course | Successful Bid of Same Student | Price of Closed Course |
| 10000 | 6000 | 4000 |
Pricing example 2:
Where there is more than one unsuccessful bidder, the price of the course is the greatest difference among the unsuccessful bidders. For instance, Student B has the greatest difference-7,000 points. Thus, the price of the course would be 7,000 points.
| Unsuccessful Bid | Successful Bid | Price of Closed Course | |
| Student A | 10000 | 6000 | 4000 |
| Student B | 8000 | 1000 | 7000 |
| Student C | 4000 | none | 4000 |
Checking the
OMIT box instructs ORB to ignore that particular line of the bid if
all the courses in that line are closed at the time the bid is examined.
In Schedule #2 of the sample RBS-Bid worksheet (shown right), by checking
the OMIT box on line 3, the student is willing to accept this schedule
for 1,694 points even if he/she cannot get 41000-04.
The OMIT option is an effective method of preventing a popular course from eliminating an entire schedule. After review of course price histories, if a student feels that a course might be closed by the time his or her schedule is read, but also wishes to prevent the entire schedule from being rejected, he/she should select OMIT for that course.
Whereas this can be effective in some cases, it is not recommended for first schedule bids. Many students submit a "worst case bid," checking OMIT on every line of the last schedule they submit and bidding very few points. In Schedule #3 (shown left), the student is willing to accept any of the courses that are open, and is willing to pay 958 points.
RBS does not permit course time conflicts within a particular schedule. If there is a time conflict within an RBS schedule, the program generates an error message and the student is not able to save his or her bid.
Course capacities are predetermined by such factors as type of class, faculty preferences, classroom size and availability, and number of sections of the course being offered. Please be aware that individual faculty members cannot change the number of seats in a course nor can additional sections be added upon request.
All courses in the full-time M.B.A. program are held on the Hyde Park Campus. Campus courses meet during the daytime (two or three times per week) or in the evenings (one time per week) and are designated by sections 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06 or 07 (e.g., 30001-01).
All courses in the part-time M.B.A. programs are held at the Gleacher Center (450 North Cityfront Plaza Drive) in downtown Chicago. Evening M.B.A. courses meet one night each week (6 p.m. to 9 p.m.) and are designated by sections 81, 82 or 83 (e.g., 30001-81). Weekend M.B.A. courses meet once a week on Saturday mornings (9 a.m. to Noon) or Saturday afternoons (1 p.m. to 4 p.m.) and are designated by sections 85 or 86 (e.g., 30001-85).
SEAT ALLOCATION
The course content for the full-time and part-time M.B.A. programs
is identical. Therefore, campus students may bid for courses offered
through the Evening and Weekend programs and vice versa. Part-time
students are given priority in registering for Evening or Weekend
classes. The number of seats allocated to full-time students in these
classes depends upon the following: the demand among part-time students
for these courses, the number of seats available on campus, and the
frequency of course offerings. Likewise, full-time students are given
priority in registering for campus sections of courses.
After course assignments are made and prices determined for each course, points are deducted from all bidders who received one or more closed courses in their schedules. Each student will pay the sum of the prices of closed courses in his/her schedule. If the sum is greater than the bid amount, the student will pay the amount of his/her bid and receive a "subsidy" for the difference. If a student subsequently drops a course and earns back bid points as a result, he or she must pay back the subsidy—on a point-for-point basis—before any of the refund is added to his or her current wealth. If a student does not drop any courses during DAS, the subsidy is erased after the close of the final round of bidding. Any future accrual of bid point wealth is not applied toward paying off a subsidy. Subsidies are not carried over from quarter to quarter.
There are two types of course prerequisites: strict and recommended. All course prerequisites are recommended unless stated otherwise. Each professor determines the prerequisites for his or her sections. Prerequisite information is detailed in the professor's course description.
Strict (a red warning message appears while attempting to save a bid) - Strict prerequisites are classes with information that faculty members view as required background to other courses. The bidding system does not permit a student who has not satisfied a strict prerequisite to save his or her bid. If a student believes his or her academic or professional background warrants a waiver, he or she must e-mail the instructor with the relevant details to request a prerequisite waiver. If the professor agrees, the student's program office is instructed to enter a system override. The system automatically generates an e-mail informing the student of the override. After receipt of this e-mail, the student may save his or her bid.
Recommended (a blue warning message appears after the schedule is saved) - Recommended prerequisites are classes with information that faculty members view as useful background to other courses. Students do not need to contact instructors regarding recommended prerequisites for a course.
Bids are not submitted for non-Booth courses. To enroll in a non-Booth course, a student must complete a non-Booth course registration card available in his or her program office. The student receives elective credit for the course (provided it equals 100 units of credit), pays Booth tuition, and receives 2,000 bid points upon completion of the course (see Booth Student Handbook for complete registration information).
Prior to submitting a bid:
- Students should check the Historical Bid Data in ORB corresponding
to the program in which he/she is enrolled.
- Check how often the course is offered.
- Review course evaluations.
- Think about what courses he/she will want in future quarters.
- Remember the higher a student's bid amount, the more points
it signifies he/she is willing to risk paying.
- Submit alternates with primary course choices to increase
the chances of securing a schedule.
- Remember that RBS looks at schedules in HIGHEST bid amount
order.
- Avoid registering for different sections of the same course.
- Avoid duplicating identical schedules at different prices.
- Use the OMIT function carefully.
- Don't put the same course and section on all schedules without using OMIT. If a course closes in the highest bid schedule, it will still be closed in the lower bid schedules.
3. PRICE DETERMINATION FOR RBS
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| Print a blank DAS Worksheet |
DROP/ADD/SWAP (DAS) allows a student to initiate changes on a course-by-course
basis in the schedule received during RBS. DAS also allows a student
to create a new schedule if RBS bidding was unsuccessful and to submit
new bids for courses that were closed in previous rounds. There are
four DAS rounds for each quarter, with the exception of autumn quarter
when there are three rounds.
There
are four ways to make changes in a Drop/Add/Swap round:
- SIMPLE DROP
- SIMPLE ADD
- ADD ONE OF
- SWAP ONE OF
| Sample of completed DAS Worksheet |
Use
of the SIMPLE DROP function guarantees that a class will be removed
from a student's schedule. To drop a course, enter the course and
section number in the SIMPLE DROPS column. In the sample bid (shown
left), 41100-01 will be dropped from the student's schedule when the
DAS round closes. This drop is final and will not affect any other
transactions performed in this round.
(Clicking on sample bids here and below will access the completed worksheet again).
The
SIMPLE ADD function allows students to bid for up to five courses
during each round of DAS There are two SIMPLE ADD functions on a bid
sheet. Each line in a SIMPLE ADD is treated as an individual transaction.
Students must assign bid point amounts for each course listed.
In the SIMPLE ADD shown left, the student is attempting to add 41100-01.
If the course is open and the price is less than 1138, the student
will secure a seat in the course.
An ADD ONE OF bid allows a student to add one of up to seven courses,
presuming all courses are of equal value to the student. Students
with strong preference in courses should use the SIMPLE ADD function
instead. In the example shown at right, the student wishes to add
41101-01 for 3000 points, 35200-03 for 500 points, or 35100-81 for
77 points.
If the student is able to add more than one of these classes, the program will not choose by assigned bid point amount or listing order, but by whichever course will save the most points to add. The table below shows how this is determined.
In the example, 41101-01 closes for a price of 2967. The system will
subtract the price (-2967) from the bid (3000) for a savings of 33
points. It will similarly review the other two course bids to determine
which bid will save the student the most points. 35200-03 is a closed
class, so the system will not consider the bid. 35100-81 is not closed,
in fact every student who bid on 35100-81 is successful in adding
the class, which means there are no unsuccessful bidders and thus
the price is 0. The system will subtract the price (0) from the bid
(77) for a savings of 77 bid points. 35100-81 will be then added to
the student's schedule as it will save the most bid points to add.
| One of "Best Deal" | ||||
| Course | Bid | DAS Price | Subtraction | Savings |
| 41101-01 | 3000 | -2967 | 3000-2967= | 33 |
| 35200-03 | 500 | Closed | Closed | N/A |
| 35100-81 | 77 | -0 | 77-0= | 77 |
The SWAP ONE OF function allows a student to exchange a course on
his or her current schedule for one of up to seven alternatives. This
function can also be used to switch between sections of the same course.
Students are able to attempt a maximum of four SWAPS in each round
of DAS
The same course cannot be dropped in more than one swap.
A SWAP should only be used if, and only if, all the ADD options are equally desirable. Students with strong preference in courses should use the SIMPLE ADD function instead.
The
first sample SWAP (shown left) is a tightly controlled SWAP which
can be used to switch sections of the same course. The example indicates
that the student wants to drop 35200-01, if, and only if, he/she can
add 35200-81 for 500 points.
In
the second SWAP (shown right), the student wants to drop 33401-02,
if, and only if, 41101-01 can be added for 3000 points, 35200-03 can
be added for 555 points, or 35100-81 can be added for 77 points. The
SWAP function does not guarantee a DROP.
If the system cannot ADD any of the courses the student wishes to
swap into, the course used to initiate the SWAP will not be removed
from the student's schedule. If the student is able to ADD more than
one of the courses indicated, the bidding system will choose whichever
course saves the most bid points to add.
| Swap One Of Pricing/Registration | |||||
| Course | Bid | 33401-02 Drop | DAS Price | Subtraction | Savings |
| 41101-01 |
3000
|
+100
|
-2967
|
3100-2967=
|
133
|
|
35200-03
|
555
|
+100
|
Closed
|
Closed
|
N/A
|
|
35100-81
|
77
|
+100
|
-0
|
177-0
|
177
|
In a SWAP, the bidding system will automatically add points to the amount the student is bidding if he/she will be refunded points for the drop.
In this SWAP example, the student wants to drop 33401-02 if and only
if he/she can add 41101-01 for 3000 points, 35200-03 for 555 points,
or 35100-81 for 77 points.
The course used to initiate the swap, 33401-02, closes for 100 points.
This point value is added to the base bid for all the desirable alternatives
provided the student does not first have a subsidy to pay.
41101-01 closes for a price of 2967. The system will add the price, if any, of the initiating course (+100) to the bid (3000) and subtract the price of the desired course (-2967) resulting in a savings of 133 points. The bidding system will similarly review the other two course bids to determine which resolution will save the student the most points.
35200-03 is a closed class, so the system will not consider the bid. 35100-81 is not closed, in fact every student who bid on 35100-81 is successful in adding the class, which means there are no unsuccessful bidders and thus the price is 0. The system will again add the price of the initiating course (100) to the base bid (77) and subtract the price (0) resulting in a savings of 177 bid points. 35100-81 will be then added to the student's schedule as it saves the most bid points to add.
Things to keep in mind in a SWAP ONE OF:
- If the course used to initiate the SWAP closes for points in the round, those points are added to each base bid for the courses listed as desirable swaps. In the example above, 33401-02 (the course being dropped) closes for 100 points at the end of the round. The system will add those 100 points to the bid amount of the courses the student is trying to add.
- If none of the ADDs are successful, the DROP will not take place.
- If a student is carrying a subsidy into the round of bidding, any points that could potentially be gained from dropping the course used to initiate the SWAP will first go towards paying off the subsidy. Any remaining bid points will then be applied to the base bids for each of the desirable SWAPS.
Unlike in RBS, time conflicts are not monitored during rounds of DAS bidding. This allows students maximum flexibility in adjusting their schedules. Students must remain cognizant of potential scheduling conflicts while placing DAS bids.
CLOSED COURSES AND DROP/ADD/SWAP PRICING
The price of a closed course in DAS is the amount of the first unsuccessful
bid for a course for that round. Successful bidders will pay the price
of the highest unsuccessful bidder.
Each DAS round generates a new set of prices that reflect the demand
for courses in that round. If a course a student has dropped closes
for a higher price in a future round, the student is not eligible
for a refund. Similarly, if a course a student has added in a previous
round closes for a higher price in a future round, no additional charge
of bid points will be assessed.
Prices reflect the demand for courses in the market that represent
individual populations of Booth students (e.g. Campus, Evening &
Weekend). If a student in one population withdraws from a course
that later closes for points in another market, the student who drops
the course will not receive the bid point price from the market in
which the course closes.
If the course a student drops does not close during that round, its
price is 0. In this case, the student who dropped the course will
not receive a return of bid points. If the course closes for points,
the student will receive a return of bid points in the amount of the
price of the course. If a student is carrying a subsidy into that
round of bidding, any points that could potentially be gained from
dropping the course will first go towards paying off the subsidy.
Any remaining bid points will then be added to the student's bid point
wealth.
| (See completed sample DAS Worksheet) |
BID POINT WEALTH
AND DAS BIDDING
Unlike RBS in which students can bid their entire wealth on each
schedule, DAS will not allow students to enter multiple transactions
that exceed their current bid point wealth. As seen in the sampe
DAS Worksheet, the student is intending to use his/her current wealth
of 7638 points.
- 1138 for the SIMPLE ADD;
- 3000 in the ADD ONE OF SEVEN;
- 500 for the first SWAP;
- 3000 for the second SWAP.
If the student exceeded his/her total bid wealth, the bidding system would not allow these transactions to be saved.
Things to Remember in DAS
- At no time is a student permitted to be registered for
more than five courses.
- Registering for a course with the intention of dropping
it later and receiving a refund of bid points is NOT recommended.
There is no guarantee that a course will close and that a student
will receive any points back.
- Students should pay close attention to the deadline
for dropping a course and receiving a full tuition refund.
- The bidding system will choose which course a student will receive in a SWAP or an ADD ONE OF. If the student enters more than one ADD or SWAP option, each should be equally desirable.
-
Prices are set separately in each round. The only relevant prices are those that occur during the round in which the student participates. If a course the student has dropped commands a higher price in a future round, the student is not eligible for a refund. If a course the student has added commands a higher price in a future round, he/she is not charged additional points.
During the final round of DAS, the bidding system creates a waitlist for each course for which demand exceeds supply. In order to be placed on a waitlist, a student must have entered a bid that proved unsuccessful during the final round of DAS As this is an automated process managed by the bidding system, students cannot be added to the waitlist without having participated in the final round of DAS
A student's position on the waitlist is determined by the amount he or she bids for the course. If a space in the class becomes available, the students with the top ten bids will receive an e-mail informing them of the opening. In order to remain in consideration for the opening, students must respond by midnight of the day in which the e-mail is received. Students who are waitlisted for a course should check their e-mail daily. The highest bidder among those who accept their spot on the waitlist will have the course added to their schedule.
Waitlist Summary
- Bid points function only to hold a student's place on
the waitlist.
- No points are paid for successfully adding a course on
the waitlist.
- All SWAPS will finalize.
- Waitlists clear at the end of the second week of the quarter.
- Students can remove themselves from the waitlist at any time by logging into ORB and following the waitlist clearance link.
REGISTERING AFTER THE LAST ROUND OF DAS
Students who wish to make changes after the final round of DAS may do so on a walk-in basis through their program office. Courses dropped after the final round of DAS will merit no refund of bid points. A quarterly tuition refund schedule is published in the Booth Calendar in the Booth Student Handbook.
Dean of Students Office