A new report highlights course 'shutouts'—constrained class seats that force students to delay degree progress, add terms and increase costs. Administrators and registrars are seeing demand spikes in high‑value gateway courses amid faculty shortages and scheduling inflexibility. The result: longer time‑to‑degree and higher student expense. Campus leaders must prioritize capacity planning, cross‑registration, and curricular redesign to reduce bottlenecks and curb the financial and retention impact on credential completion.