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Waitlist & Priorities Management
Waitlist & Priorities Management

[For Admins + Managers] Learn to use Waitlists to manage program openings and who to admit for a particular program.

Audrey avatar
Written by Audrey
Updated over a week ago

Administrators use waitlists to prioritize admissions when openings occur, considering factors like program availability and application dates. Sibling attendance may also be considered. Brightwheel's Waitlist Dashboard offers easy access to program waitlists, enabling administrators to organize students by priority and promptly notify families about available spots.

Programs & Waitlists

Before students can be added to a waitlist for a specific program, that program must be created. Waitlists are specifically designed for enrolling students in particular programs.

ℹ️ Please visit our Programs resource for steps on creating a new Program.

If a child is waitlist for a particular program, the waitlisted status will appear on the Student Profile under Programs in the Enrollment Details panel.

Add Student to a Waitlist

By default, students are added at the bottom of the waitlist.

  1. Log in to your account on the web

  2. Navigate to the Admissions section in brightwheel and click Waitlists

  3. Click +Add Student

  4. Choose Current or New

  5. Enter the name and select a program from the drop-down

  6. Click Add or Create Student

ℹ️ Adding new students to a program waitlist will set their Enrollment Status to Waitlist. Existing students will not have their school status changed.

Remove Student from a Waitlist

  1. Log in to your account on the web

  2. Navigate to the Admissions section in brightwheel and click Waitlists

  3. Next to the desired student, click Options

  4. Choose Remove

  5. Confirm your choice by clicking Remove on the pop-up

If the student is not enrolled in any other programs, their Enrollment Status will be set to Inactive.

Enroll Student from a Waitlist

Students can be set to active directly from a waitlist. This will immediately remove the student from the waitlist and enroll them in the program.

  1. Log in to your account on the web

  2. Navigate to the Admissions section in brightwheel and click Waitlists

  3. Next to the desired student, click Options

  4. Choose Enroll

  5. Verify or modify the Homeroom & Enrollment Date on the pop-up
    ​💡Once enrolled, students will be assigned to the Homeroom selected right away

  6. Click Save

💡If an Enrollment Date is selected, the child's enrollment status will be set to Active on that date. When set to active, the program owner will receive an email notification that the child will now appear in classrooms.

🚩 If no Enrollment Date is selected, or the student has past dates on their profile, their enrollment status will be set to Active immediately and they will be assigned to the selected Homeroom.

Reorder a Waitlist

A waitlist is organized based on numerical positions and order can be changed at any time.

Simply click on the Position drop-down and pick a different number. This will move the student currently at that number, and all subsequent students, down one position.

💡Use the Room, Age, Sibling, or Age filters to help choose the best position based on each program's enrollment criteria.

Waitlist Reporting

Leverage the Program Waitlist Report to export, or print a list of students who have been waitlisted for a specific program!

FAQs

Can students be automatically added to the Waitlist?

Currently students cannot be automatically added to the waitlist or moved to another waitlist. Both of these actions can only be done manually by an Admin or Manager by adding or removing a student from the waitlist.

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