The Board of Regents approved the tuition plan on Thursday.

Summary

The University of Texas System has approved a tuition-free program for undergraduate students from families earning $100,000 or less, starting next fall.

The initiative, funded by an immediate $35 million in endowments and long-term investments, seeks to lower student debt and improve access to higher education.

Qualifying students must be Texas residents, enroll full-time, and apply for financial aid.

While the program builds on previous UT tuition relief efforts funded by endowments and oil royalties, critics, including Texas lawmakers, have called it unconstitutional and proposed cutting UT’s budget.

  • the post of tom joad@sh.itjust.works
    4·
    10 hours ago

    Your point on addtional costs stands, but it looks like the 35 Million isn’t the wh9le picture.

    Unless I’m misreading the article this program is, rather than new, an extension and expansion of their previous 2019 tuition assistance plan.

    In 2019, the Regents established a $167 million endowment at UT Austin to fully cover tuition and mandatory fees for in-state undergraduate students from families earning less than $65,000, and cover the majority of tuition fees for families earning up to $125,000.

    In 2022, the Regents extended the program to all UT academic institutions with a second endowment of nearly $300 million, known as “Promise Plus.”

    I didn’t see the details of this new plan but extrapolating, they still offer reduced or dismissed fees on a sliding income scale.