UNLV imposes deadline on fall semester admission applications

By Paul Takahashi

Monday, July 18, 2011 | 5:28 p.m.

Attention chronic procrastinators: UNLV has moved up its undergraduate application deadline by a month, abolishing its rolling admissions policy because of budget constraints.

Undergraduate students interested in attending UNLV this fall must apply by 11:59 p.m. Aug. 1, university officials have announced. Next year, the fall deadline will be July 1.

The new admission deadlines — mandated by the Nevada System of Higher Education — would ensure enrolled students have access to classes they need to graduate and enable the university to manage its resources more effectively, officials said.

In previous years, UNLV’s admissions policy allowed students to submit applications through the first week of the semester. Under that policy, students could apply for the fall semester through Sept. 2.

UNLV is making the move to “better align limited campus faculty and support resources,” according to a news release. UNLV currently faces a $19 million budget shortfall for the next biennium, which it plans to plug in part by eliminating close to 400 positions and 36 departments and degree programs.

UNLV expects enrollment to drop because of the new deadline, but it does not know to what extent enrollment will be affected, officials said. The university typically receives about 1,000 applications between Aug. 1 and the start of the fall semester. Students who apply before the deadline are more likely to complete their degrees, officials said.

“We’ve never had a firm deadline before, so we don’t know exactly how enrollment will be affected,” UNLV spokeswoman Afsha Bawany said. “Perhaps students might turn in applications earlier … but we might see a slight drop in enrollment.”

The Board of Regents mandated a look at hard admission deadlines for all campuses at its June meeting. Each will implement its own deadlines.

The new admission deadlines will not affect graduate students or financial aid and scholarships, according to UNLV’s website. UNLV’s deadline for tuition and fee payments for incoming and current students will remain Aug. 26 for payments in person, or Aug. 28 for online payments.

The fall semester begins Aug. 29.

For information about the new deadlines, visit http://www.unlv.edu/admissions/deadlines.