Registration appointments (or 'pass times') are the times a student is assigned during which they can make changes to their schedule for a particular quarter. Pass times have a built-in hierarchy to them (called 'priority'), in order to best serve students' varying needs. New students get 2 pass times during their first quarter, then 3 pass times per quarter there after, even after returning to UCSB after a break.

Priority follows a simple top-down schema:

• Pass 1:
• Students with an approved high-priority category (athletes, disabled students, non-traditional students, etc)
• Graduate students
• Undergraduate students

• Passes 2 and 3:
• Graduate students
• Undergraduate students

Where an individual student falls within priority is based on a student's 'tenure' - the number of quarters the student has completed at UCSB (not including Summer Sessions). The more quarters a student completes at UCSB, the higher their priority, and the earlier their pass times. Pass times are NOT based on completed units or class level.

• High-Priority - For pass 1, students with an approved high-priority category supersede their tenure, and are always given the earliest pass times. During passes 2 and 3, these students are then part of their normal 'tenure cohort' and assigned passes just like the other graduate or undergraduate students.
• Graduate students - Upon admission, graduate students are assigned a tenure that puts them with a total number greater than all undergraduates (50 completed quarters). Then for every non-summer quarter completed, a graduate student's tenure count is incremented by 1.
• Undergraduates - Upon admission, undergraduate students are assigned a tenure of that of a student who has never attended UCSB (0 completed quarters).
• Then during pass assignment, some adjustments are made to specific populations:
• Transfer students are reassigned a tenure of a third-year-first-quarter student (6 completed quarters)
•  Students in the College of Creative Studies (CCS) are reassigned a tenure of a fourth-year-first-quarter student (9 completed quarters). Once a CCS student has completed 9 quarters, they are then reassigned a tenure greater than other undergraduates, but less than graduate students (49 completed quarters).
•  Students visiting from other 4 year institutions (EAP Reciprocity, intercampus visitors (ICV), etc) are reassigned a tenure of that of a fourth-year-first-quarter student (9 completed quarters)
• After these adjustments are made, for every non-summer quarter completed, an undergraduate student's tenure count is incremented by 1.
• If an undergraduate student attends another college or university after they've been admitted to UCSB, their tenure will be incremented for every 12 units completed at those other institutions (but only after the transfer work has been evaluated by UCSB, and not for courses taken during summer terms).

• For students who have the same tenure (have completed a similar number of quarters), their priority is randomized through the population.

Pass times have 'unit limits' assigned to them - the total number of units a student may register in during that pass. These limits are used to control the equitable distribution of available courses for all students. These pass time limits are:

• Pass 1: 10 units*
• Pass 2: 15 units
• Pass 3: 99 units

*Student athletes, those in the disabled students program and verified veterans have a 15 unit cap for both pass 1 and pass 2.