By Marcela Rodrigues and Zacharia Washington
Dallas Morning News
Reprinted – by Texas Metro News
UT System’s regents announced Wednesday that Texas families earning less than $100,000 annually will get free tuition and waived fees for students.
The University of Texas System regents announced on Wednesday an expanded plan to help more students afford college.
Next fall, students whose families make an adjusted gross income of $100,000 or less will qualify for free tuition and waived fees.
This initiative is an expansion of Promise Plus, a need-based financial aid program approved by the board in 2022.
Who qualifies for free tuition at UT universities?
A student must be a Texas resident; a full-time student in an undergraduate program; enrolled in one of the nine UT academic institutions.
That excludes part-time students, out-of-state and international students.
It also excludes those who attend health and research oriented UT institutions, such as UT Southwestern in Dallas.
The qualifying institutions are: UT Dallas; UT Arlington; UT Tyler; UT Austin; UT Santo Antonio; UT El Paso; UT Rio Grande Valley; UT Permian Basin and Stephen F. Austin State University.
When does free tuition benefits kick in at UT System schools?
Eligible students will have access to free tuition and waived fees in fall semester of 2025.
How is it funded?
The regents will provide the universities with $35 million, which will come from endowment distributions, the Available University Fund and other resources.
The UT System aims to continue the program in perpetuity, “ensuring long-term financial support for future generations,” officials said.
This is a developing story and will be updated frequently.
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| This story, originally published in The Dallas Morning News, is reprinted as part of a collaborative partnership between The Dallas Morning News and Texas Metro News. The partnership seeks to boost coverage of Dallas’ communities of color, particularly in southern Dallas. |
