Spring Semester Enrollment at TAMIU ‘Quacks’ Up Record; Thousands of Ducks Help Students Celebrate
This Spring Semester 2025 at Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) is another one for the record books...and the ducks have it.
Students enrolling at TAMIU set a historic record for the highest Spring Enrollment in the University’s history: 8,254 students, a 3.95% increase in headcount, and a 5.17% increase in Semester Credit Hours, upon which State funding is configured.
TAMIU celebrated the milestone Wednesday with a fun event, “Release the Quacken.” Enrolled students collected a special commemorative silver duck from thousands afloat in the campus’s central Acequia Fountain. Some students even dressed for the disco-themed occasion with vintage clothing ready for dancing.
TAMIU interim president Juan J. Castillo explained the significance of the ‘ducktastic’ celebration.
“These ducks symbolize the thousands of TAMIU students enrolled this Spring at the University. Ahead of Wednesday’s celebration, dozens of branded and customized silver rubber duckies have been hidden across campus daily. University social media ‘fowl-owers’ have tracked and found the hidden ducks through a digital scavenger hunt. Having a fun and historic event like this helps us to ready for the celebration of the University’s 55th Anniversary Celebration, set to begin in Fall 2025,” Castillo observed.
Castillo also provided some demographic insights on this Spring’s historic enrollment:
*Undergraduate students number 6,393 while graduate students have increased 12.8% to 1,861 students.
*Women outnumber Men 5,137 to 3,117.
*There are 38 international countries represented this Spring. The student traveling furthest hails from Indonesia, 9,200 miles away from Laredo.
*96.8% of students are from Texas.
*The youngest TAMIU student is 14, and the oldest is 79.
*Some 7.5% of undergraduates are dual-enrolled high school students.
There are 35 students enrolled in Doctoral programs at TAMIU.
*The top Undergraduate majors are Business Administration, Criminal Justice, Biology, Psychology, and Kinesiology.
*The top Graduate majors are Business Administration, Curriculum & Instruction, Family Nurse Practitioner, Criminal Justice, and School Counseling.
TAMIU provost and vice president for Academic Affairs Dr. Claudia San Miguel said she believes the University’s enrollment gains are reflective of the broad range of TAMIU student support and resources available.
“TAMIU has enhanced support services to include Intrusive Advising, Enhanced Tutoring, Early Intervention, Supplemental Instruction for Gateway Courses, Mental Health Programs, Food Insecurity and Emergency Expense Programs. All share a common vision: helping TAMIU students to persist and graduate,” Dr. San Miguel explained.
TAMIU vice president for Enrollment Management Juan G. García, Jr. concurred and said the roles of enrollment team, TAMIU faculty, and administration are crucial.
“We’re tremendously proud of our University enrollment team and their vital roles in meeting with potential students to explore the opportunities that TAMIU can make real for them. These efforts, along with those of our gifted faculty and administrative support, combine to create a welcoming environment where students can and do succeed,” García said.
He noted TAMIU’s May Commencement Exercises, scheduled May 15 at the Sames Auto Arena, are projected to see more than 1,000 candidates for graduation...also on target to be the largest graduating class in the University’s history.
For more about the University’s ‘quacktastic’ enrollment celebration, visit a dedicated website at go.tamiu.edu/lucky ducky. There, you’ll find scavenger hunt success stories, student engagement opportunities featuring lucky duckies, fun videos, and a curated playlist to help get ducks and their owners to bust a move.
Registration for TAMIU’s Maymester, Summer, and Fall 2025 courses is underway online via Uconnect.
For more information, contact the Office of the University Registrar at 326.2250, email registrar@tamiu.edu, or visit offices in the Zaffirini Student Success Center, suite 121.
More on the University’s story is available at tamiu.edu and from its social media channels on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X-Twitter, and YouTube.
