The University of Texas System is set to broaden its free tuition initiative, enabling undergraduate students from families earning $100,000 or less to enjoy free tuition and fees beginning in the upcoming fall semester.
On Wednesday, a committee from the UT Board of Regents provisionally endorsed the expansion of the Promise Plus Program, with a decisive vote scheduled for Thursday. Should the board approve the expansion, the system will allocate $35 million directly to its universities to facilitate the program for eligible students across all nine of its institutions.
Board Chair Kevin Eltife emphasized the significance of enabling students to pursue their education at a UT institution without accumulating additional debt, highlighting the board’s ongoing commitment to providing affordable and accessible education.
To qualify for the program, students must be Texas residents, enrolled as full-time undergraduates, and must apply for relevant state and financial aid.
This expansion reflects a continued effort by the regents to enhance college affordability. In 2019, they established a $167 million endowment at the University of Texas at Austin aimed at providing free tuition and fees for in-state undergraduate students from families earning less than $65,000. This initiative also included tuition support for families making under $125,000. Three years later, the Promise Plus Program was initiated, backed by a $300 million endowment, to aid other UT system universities in enhancing their financial aid offerings.
The system notes that the University of Texas at El Paso has increased its income limit for free tuition from $60,000 to $75,000, enabling 75% of local households to qualify.
In recent years, numerous universities and community colleges across Texas and throughout the nation have unveiled similar tuition programs to promote higher education accessibility for low-income students, as well as to motivate enrollment among those wary of incurring student debt. Typically, these programs aim to cover the remaining tuition costs after federal or state grants are deducted.
The $35 million designated for this initiative will stem from endowment distributions, returns from the Available University Fund—which pools investment returns from a state fund allocated to the UT system—and other funding sources, as detailed in the press release from the system.
This funding will not only increase the number of students eligible for free tuition and fees in the following academic year but will also help sustain the Promise Plus Program over the long term.
Chancellor James Milliken remarked on the positive trend within UT institutions, noting the growth in enrollment coupled with a decline in student debt. This dual effect demonstrates progress in both access and affordability within the higher education sector, an achievement he takes pride in as the UT System continues to lead in this area.
Since the introduction of the initial free tuition program, the proportion of UT system graduates who carry debt has decreased from 54% in 2019 to 48% in 2023, illustrating the program’s impact on student finances.