Census Date

The census date of a term is the official reporting date for attendance/acitvity in courses.  Every course is assigned to a part-of-term, and each part of term has a specific start and a specific end date, defining the course duration.  The census date for each part-of-term is determined by Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board rules and varies by the duration.  For example, in a "regular" 16-week part-of-term the course census date is the twelfth (12th) class day; and in a shorter 8-week part-of-term the course census date is the seventh (7th) class day.  

The census date is important to students, as it determines if discontinued enrollment in a course is classified as a drop or withdrawal, and that makes a transcript difference.  Discontinued enrollment on or before the census date is a "drop" and is not included in academic transcripts.  Enrollment discontinuation permitted after the census date is a "withdrawal" with a "W" transcript grade.

Important Note:  Tuition and fee refund credits for dropped or withdrawn courses are based on refund rules, which are independent of course census dates as well as "last day to withdraw" dates.  

The Admissions and Records Office  reserves the right to make changes or deletions at any time without notice.  In the event of a discrepancy between the dates on this page and any other published dates, the student is responsible for verifying dates by contacting the Admission and Records office to verify and confirm the correct dates.