Finding a parking space at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley has become an issue for students at the Edinburg campus.

"I have class at 11:00 a.m., and I have to show up at 9:00 a.m. just to find a parking space," a UTRGV student said.

The parking issue comes weeks after the university said, "a record number of freshmen were admitted this fall."

The university says they are aware of the parking issue. A lot of students are going back to campus after covid, having the parking lot busier than before.

At UTRGV, for every parking spot, the university sells two parking permits.

UTRGV says that's better than the industry standard of three permits per spot. They say spots are available, it is just a matter of knowing where to look.

It is the third week back to school for the students at UTRGV, and many students have to learn or relearn where to find a spot.

"What we are seeing now is that it is improving," UTRGV spokesperson Patrick Gonzales said. "There were a lot of factors that the first week that caused a lot of problems. It was the most students we've seen ever had back on campus since 2019."

Gonzales says on top of the number of people, ongoing construction is an issue too.

"What we're seeing is some of the remote lots are being underutilized," Gonzales says. "And what we've done with those remote lots is yes, they are farther away, but we've also added a shuttle service for those lots."

The parking situation is getting better as the weeks go on.

The university says they want to do more to update students about parking availability.

Updates and availability are available on UTRGV's parking page.