Course Match Pre-Enrolment: 400-Level Courses
What is Course Match?
There is excess demand for spaces in
400-level economics courses, and given explicit program requirements, there are
often no good substitutes for them. In order to
allocate scarce spaces in the courses as fairly and optimally as possible, we
use Course Match. Course Match employs an algorithm to
assign students—before the standard enrolment period—to 400-level courses on the basis of their preferences.
Who is eligible to participate in Course Match?
A primary goal of implementing course
match is to make sure that every student enrolled in an economics program who
is in their final year of studies can enrol in the number of 400-level courses
needed to satisfy their program’s requirement. In particular, these are
students who—if they complete the Summer courses in
which they are enrolled—will satisfy the following criteria: i) have accepted
an invitation to an Economics program; ii) will have completed at least 14.0
credits by the end of the Summer; and iii) will not have satisfied their
program's 400-level course requirement by the end of the Summer.
Course Match will assign two courses to
Specialists who, as of the end of Summer, will not have completed any 400-level
courses. It will assign one course to Specialists who will have completed one
400-level course and to Majors who will have completed none by the end of the
Summer. Those who are expected to have completed their program’s requirement
for 400-level courses by the end of the Summer are not eligible to participate.
I think I am eligible to participate but I did not receive an
email invitation to participate. What should I do?
By June 1, 2022, we will send an email
invitation to participate in Course Match to all students who qualify according
to our records. If you believe you qualify but did not receive an invitation,
as soon as possible and by June 14, 2022 email the department’s Undergraduate
Administrator (ugadministrator.economics@utoronto.ca) with the subject “Course Match”.
How does Course Match work?
The Course Match algorithm allocates
scarce spaces in 400-level courses as optimally as possible. Students submit a
ranked list of most-preferred courses, and the algorithm uses these preferences
to figure out how to allocate space in these courses as optimally as possible.
While Course Match does not guarantee you a spot in your most preferred
course—for the most popular courses, luck plays a big role in determining who
gets a slot—it gives you a better chance of gaining access to one of your top
choices than the usual enrolment process. Participating also guarantees enrolment
in the minimum number of 400-level courses you currently need
to complete your program’s requirements for a June 2023 graduation.
From June 1–19, you can submit and update
your rankings on the Course Match website: https://app.cognomos.com/rank/toronto-ECO-22. Before the regular enrolment period, you
find out in which 400-level courses you are pre-enrolled.
You can find additional guidance on
submitting your preferences here and a description of the underlying
algorithm here.
What courses should I list and in what order?
List, in the order of your preferences, at
least five courses you are willing to take. That’s it. The algorithm is strategy
proof, meaning listing the courses from most preferred to less preferred is
a best response. Trying to game the system cannot improve your
outcome. In particular:
·
For any particular course,
the higher you rank it, the more likely you will get a space in it.
·
Ranking fewer courses does not increase
the chance you get into the courses you list. It only increases the chance that
you are do not get any courses through Course Match. In particular, in order for us to guarantee that you will receive the
number of 400-level courses you need, you must submit a list with at
least five courses.
·
If your most-preferred course is likely to have excess
demand, there is no cost to taking a chance and listing it first. If you do not
list it first and there truly is excess demand, you almost certainly will not
get a place. If you list it first and are unlucky and do not get a place, then
the algorithm effectively treats your second-ranked course as your
highest-ranked course.
Note that when you go to the Course Match
website, you will be asked to place one course in a bucket labeled Favorite and
additional courses in buckets labeled Great, Good,
and Acceptable. Courses in different buckets are ordered as
expected, and the order you rank courses within a bucket matters as well. For
our purposes, however, only the overall order matters.
What do you mean only the overall order matters?
Let us say your top five classes, in
preference order, are 495 ≻ 494 ≻ 493 ≻ 492 ≻ 491. In this
case, you clearly put 495 in the Favorite bucket. After that, all of the following express the same preference rankings
and would result in the exact same outcome.
·
Putting all of remaining
classes on your list in the Great bucket in the order of 494,
493, 492 and 491.
·
Putting 494 followed by 493 in the Great bucket
and 492 followed by 491 in the Good bucket.
·
Putting 494 in the Great bucket and
then putting in the Acceptable bucket 493 followed by 492
followed by 491.
Do I need to participate in Course Match?
Of course, if you are not planning on
taking any 400-level economics courses in the upcoming academic year, you do
not need to participate.
If you want to take 400-level economics
courses in the upcoming academic year, participation is highly encouraged.
Participation increases the likelihood of getting the courses you want, and may be the only route to enrolment in certain
courses. Furthermore, only by participating are you guaranteed next-year
enrolment in the number of 400-level courses your program requires. In other
words, if you do not participate in Course Match, the Dean’s Promise (as it relates to 400-level courses)
does not apply.
Will I be able to register for 400-level economics courses
during the University’s normal registration process?
Students who participated in Course Match
and desire to register for additional 400-level courses—as well as those who
did not participate in Course Match—will have the opportunity to enrol in
additional courses during the University’s normal registration process. Note,
however, that we use Course Match to allocate the vast
majority of 400-level spaces. Some sections will be completely
filled by Course Match.
Important Dates
Some
important dates for this process:
·
June 1 to June 19, 2022: Access Course Match at https://app.cognomos.com/rank/toronto-ECO-22 and rank your preferred courses. After submitting, you can
modify your rankings at any point during the period from June 1 through 19.
·
Between July 4-8, 2022: Log into ACORN to see in which
course you have been pre-enrolled.
·
July 11, 2022: Priority Enrolment begins.
Notes:
·
When ranking your desired courses, do not choose
any course for which you do not have the prerequisites. In the Fall, when
we check your prerequisites, you will be removed from that
course. Course Match does not block you from choosing courses if you don t have
the prerequisites, so make sure you have the prerequisites (see Calendar).
·
If there are multiple sections of one of your
preferred courses, rank only *one* section. Otherwise, you may be
automatically enrolled in multiple sections of the same course and will be
forfeiting this opportunity to gain early access to a second course.
·
This process gives you access to Economics courses for
which you have choice when completing your program of study, not mandatory 400-level
courses (if you have a mandatory course, you have priority enrolment access to
the course).
·
Follow the instructions carefully, you should rank all
courses that you are willing to take. In other words, exclude only those
courses that you are not qualified to take (do not have the prerequisites) and
those you do not want to take.
Notes for Students in a Data Analytics Foci
Focus in
Data Analytics with Economics Major (ASFOC1478B)
In order to meet the Major and Focus
requirements, you must complete one of the following courses:
ECO401H1F, ECO403H1F, ECO403H1S, ECO404H1F, ECO404H1S, ECO446H1S, ECO464H1F,
ECO466H1F, ECO475H1S, ECO480H1S,
ECO481H1F, ECO481H1S, ECO499H1Y.
*ECO466H1F
and ECO499H1Y are not available for pre-enrollment, please enroll during open
enrollment. See A&S
Timetable for information on how to submit a supplemental application.
Focus in
Data Analytics (with Economics Specialist - ASFOC1478A)
In order to meet the Specialist and Focus
requirements, you must complete two of the following courses:
ECO401H1F, ECO403H1F, ECO403H1S, ECO404H1F, ECO404H1S, ECO446H1S, ECO464H1F,
ECO466H1F, ECO480H1S,
ECO481H1F, ECO481H1S, ECO499H1Y.
You should not use
Course Match for ECO475H1S as this is a required course. Please enrol during the priority enrolment period.
*ECO466H1F
and ECO499H1Y are not available for pre-enrollment, please enroll during priority
enrollment. See A&S
Timetable for information on how to submit a supplemental application.
Questions? Email ugadministrator.economics@utoronto.ca; subject Course Match.