How to Fill Out and Submit the VCU Course Override Form

The VCU course override form is how you ask a department to remove a registration block — a full section, a major restriction, a time conflict, or sometimes an unmet prerequisite — so you can add a class eServices won’t otherwise let you into. There is no single university-wide form. Each school, college, or department runs its own process, and the VCU Advising site maintains the directory of unit-specific instructions.¹ Once the override is approved, you still have to register yourself on eServices before add/drop closes.

When You Need an Override

The error message eServices gives you when you try to add a class tells you what kind of block you’re hitting. Overrides generally address three.²

Size capacity. The section is full, and the department can raise the cap or add you beyond it if the instructor agrees and the room allows.
Major or minor restriction. The course is reserved for students in a particular program, and the department may grant access if you have an academic reason to be in it.
Time conflict. Two of your classes overlap, and an override lets you register for both while leaving you to manage the overlap.

Some departments also handle prerequisite blocks through overrides. If you got a “Prerequisite Not Met” error but have satisfied the requirement through transfer credit or equivalent coursework, units like Statistical Sciences accept that explanation on their override form.¹ The Math department uses a separate Google Form specifically for prerequisite override requests.³

Where to Submit Your Request

Start at the VCU Advising course overrides directory and find the entry for the department that offers the course you want.¹ The registrar’s page notes the same thing in different words: overrides come from the department chair of the course, not from your home department.²

How the major units handle requests:

School of Business. Non-business majors use a Google Form linked on the advising page. Business majors contact their academic advisor directly. Questions go to usib@vcu.edu.
School of Education. Submit early. Any request received after noon on the last day of add/drop will not be reviewed. Questions go to soeadvising@vcu.edu.
College of Engineering. Case by case, with policies that vary by department and course. Use the form for the department offering the course. Questions go to engradvise@vcu.edu.
Humanities and Sciences. One form covers courses with prefixes like ENGL, HIST, PHIL, SPAN, AFAM, ANTH, and about a dozen others. The full list is on the advising page.
Biology. Uses its own online override form. No other submission method is accepted.
Mass Communications. Allow at least seven business days. The Robertson School will not override a closed section if another section of the same course has open seats.
Health Professions. Overrides are granted on a space-available basis toward the end of each semester. Radiation Sciences (CLRS) and Medical Laboratory Sciences (MLS) courses do not offer overrides at all.
Statistical Sciences and Operations Research (STAT, OPER, SSOR). Reviewed as received. Include your full V-number and VCU email. Submit the form once per course if you need multiple overrides.

Two departments rarely or never grant overrides. Forensic Science generally does not, and Kinesiology and Health Sciences does not provide them at all.¹ If you need a course from either, talk to your academic advisor about alternatives early in the registration cycle.

What to Put on the Form

The fields vary slightly, but almost every form asks for the same core details. Gather these before you start:

V-number. Your eight-digit VCU student identification number.⁴
VCU email address. Many forms require it so the department can tell you the outcome.
CRN. The Course Reference Number identifying the specific section, found on eServices when you search the schedule of classes. Some forms, including the STAT/OPER form, let you list multiple CRNs in priority order.¹
Reason for the request. Be specific in the comments box. If it’s a prerequisite block, explain how you’ve met the requirement through other coursework. If the section is full, say whether you need the class to graduate on time.

Seniors on a graduation timeline have the strongest case. VCU confers degrees in May, August, and December, and the graduation application deadline typically falls two to three weeks after the first day of classes.⁵ If a required course is full and no other section is available, say so plainly. Departments are more likely to bend on capacity for a student who cannot graduate without the course.

After the Override Is Approved

An approved override does not enroll you. It removes the block so you can register yourself on eServices by CRN, the same way you add any other course.¹ Skip that step and the override is wasted.

Timing is tight. For fall 2026, add/drop and late registration runs August 18 through August 24.⁶ An override that comes through on August 23 is useless if you don’t register until August 25. Check your VCU email and eServices often during that window, especially after a late submission. The School of Education, again, will not review anything received after noon on the last day of add/drop.

Credit Overload Fees

If an override pushes you past the credit-hour ceiling, it triggers an overload fee that students often don’t see coming. Undergraduates hit overload above 19 credit hours; graduate students hit it above 15.² Before registering for an overloaded schedule, submit an Overload Approval Form to Records and Registration in Harris Hall.

Overload credits are billed at the part-time per-credit-hour tuition rate. For the 2026–2027 academic year:⁷

Undergraduate: $483.50 per credit hour
Masters: $815 per credit hour
Doctoral: $672 per credit hour

A master’s student who overrides into one extra three-credit course would owe an additional $2,445 in tuition that semester. The overload fee doesn’t apply to students in first professional programs or programs that specifically require enrollment above the ceiling.⁷ Block-rate undergraduates are charged the overload fee once they exceed 18 credits, one lower than the general 19-credit threshold.²

If Your Override Is Denied

VCU has no university-wide appeal process for denied overrides. Each unit handles denials on its own terms, and some offer no appeal path at all.¹ Mass Communications, for example, notifies you by email and that’s the end of it if another open section of the same course exists.

Your next step is your academic advisor. Advisors can point you to alternative sections, substitute courses that fill the same requirement, or a reworked degree plan. For Business, write to usib@vcu.edu. For Education, soeadvising@vcu.edu. For Engineering, engradvise@vcu.edu. For most other units, your assigned advisor is the right contact.

If the denied course is the only thing between you and graduation, escalate. Ask your advisor whether the department chair can reconsider, or whether a degree substitution petition might work instead. Knowing the graduation application deadline — roughly two to three weeks after the first day of classes — gives you leverage here, because the university has its own interest in keeping you on track to finish on time.⁵

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Virginia Commonwealth University. Course Overrides
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Virginia Commonwealth University. Holds and Restrictions
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Virginia Commonwealth University. Overrides – Mathematics
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VCU News. VCU Adopts New Alternative Student Identification Number
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Virginia Commonwealth University. Graduation Application
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Virginia Commonwealth University. Fall 2026 Academic Calendar
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Virginia Commonwealth University. FY 2026-2027 University Budget Plan