Course session waitlists let learners claim a spot in a full session without being turned away. When a seat opens, the system automatically enrolls the next person in line. Waitlists help you keep sessions full, reduce no-shows, and give learners a fair shot at their preferred session.

See how it looks

Key features

• Learners join the waitlist when a session is full and are auto-enrolled when a spot opens
• First-come, first-served enrollment keeps the process fair and transparent
• Auto-unenrollment removes learners from backup sessions when they get into their preferred one
• Manual enrollment lets you bypass the queue when needed
• Waitlist notifications keep learners informed through Scorecards

You need this to succeed

• Plan: Bigtincan Basic Learning, Bigtincan Basic Readiness, Bigtincan Elite, Bigtincan Essential, Bigtincan Readiness, Bigtincan Standard, or Bigtincan Standard Plus
• Roles & Privileges: Learning Author, Learning Administrator, or Company Administrator

The quick way

• How waitlists work
• Enable a waitlist
• Manage a waitlist
• Send waitlist notifications

Do this step by step

How waitlists work

When a session reaches its enrollment maximum, learners can join the waitlist instead of being turned away or registering for a less desirable time slot.

The system enrolls waitlisted learners automatically on a first-come, first-served basis as spots open. You set a cutoff (a number of days before the session starts) after which auto-enrollment stops.

When a waitlisted learner is auto-enrolled in their preferred session, the system automatically unenrolls them from any backup sessions they had joined. This reduces administrative cleanup and avoids double-bookings.

Note: Lowering a session's enrollment capacity after learners are already enrolled won't remove anyone currently enrolled or affect the waitlist.

Enable a waitlist

You can enable a waitlist when creating a new session or by editing an existing one.

1. Click the Learning tab and select My Courses & Curriculums.
2. Search for your specific course event. To narrow the list, filter by Learning Type > Course Event.
3. Click the three dot menu in the course event row and select Manage course event from the drop-down menu.
4. Open the Edit session page for your course event or click Create session to add a new one.
5. Check the Session maximum enrollments box and set the maximum number of learners.
6. Check Waitlist Enabled.

7. Set the number of days before the session start date when auto-enrollment from the waitlist should stop.

   Note: This gives learners time to receive their enrollment confirmation and make arrangements before the session.

8. Click the save icon.

Once enabled, learners who try to register for a full session will see the option to join the waitlist. If a spot opens, the system auto-enrolls them in order.

Manage a waitlist

You can view and manage the waitlist from the Edit session page.

1. Open the Edit session page for your session (see steps 1–4 above).

2. Click View Waitlist.

   The waitlist shows learners in the order they joined, along with their name, email, department, and date joined.

   Note: The waitlist order is set by join date and can't be changed.

3. To remove a learner from the waitlist, click the remove icon next to their name.

   Note: This action can't be undone. Only learners can add themselves back to the waitlist.

4. To enroll a learner manually, click the enroll student icon next to their name. You can do this in any order, regardless of their position in the queue.

Send waitlist notifications

You can send an email notification to all learners currently on a waitlist using the Create Action workflow in Scorecards.

1. Navigate to Scorecards and open the relevant course event panel.
2. Select Create Action and choose Waitlist Notification from the output options.
3. Select the course and course session for the notification.
4. Edit the subject line and message body if needed, or use the default notification template.
5. Set the schedule frequency and save.

The notification goes to all learners on the waitlist at the time it's sent. The default message includes the learner's name, course name, session details, and instructions for leaving the waitlist.