Mariah Escobar 
Jose Rodriguez/THE RIDER
Census Day for Fall 2025 at UTRGV was Sept. 17 with “more than 35,100 students” registered for the semester, according to the University Registrar Sofia Almeda.
Almeda said Census Day is an “important academic milestone” in the semester and is mandated by the state of Texas in which students must finalize registration and credit hours for the semester.
“[It] impacts what UTRGV’s final enrollment is, and it gets reported to the state of Texas for funding purposes,” she said.
With record enrollment this year, the university is excited as it enhances the college experience for students, according to Almeda, and the registrar anticipates to see further growth in the spring semester.
Griselda Castilla, vice president for Strategic Enrollment, said Census Day is the 12th class day of the fall and spring semesters by which students must be enrolled.
“Our enrollment has continued to grow, so course demand is very high,” Castilla said. “So, the sooner … they can register for classes the better.”
She said registration for next semester begins at the end of October and students can use Plan Ahead, a feature of Banner ASSIST that allows students to build possible schedules in advance of registration, according to the U Central website.
“Students can go in and start registering for classes,” Castilla said. “… So, when registration does open, they already have those courses and are ready to go and are able to submit it.”
She said “it’s not too late” for students that have not applied for financial aid and may require it.
“[Students can] ensure that their financial aid file is complete, so that they don’t have to worry about, ‘How am I going to make a payment for the spring semester?’ so, they can have their financial aid ready,” Castilla said.
Almeda said the university has done a great job at adjusting to the influx of students by going over degree programs and classes to find the best times to schedule classes.
She encouraged students to visit the UTRGV webpage and the academic calendar to keep up with important dates, such as Census Day and the last day to drop classes.
“We want students to get the classes they need so they can graduate on a timely basis,” Castilla said.
For more information, students can visit U Central at The Tower in the Main Building on the Brownsville campus, in the Student Services Building on the Edinburg campus or its website.
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