UT System is waiving college tuition for thousands of students. Here’s who qualifies
Undergraduate students whose families earn $100,000 or less attending any of the nine campuses in the University of Texas System won’t have to pay tuition starting in the fall of 2025.
The Board of Regents Academic Affairs Committee approved the sweeping financial aid Wednesday, Nov. 20., and the full board is expected to approve expanding free tuition on Thursday, Nov. 21.
According to a news release from the UT system, the Board of Regents is committed to providing more opportunities for Texas students to earn a college degree without debt.
Once approved, the campuses will receive $35 million, and this will make the UT System the first in Texas and one of a few in the country to offer the “sweeping financial benefit” for students, according to the news release.
The University of Texas at Arlington and the University of Texas at Dallas are part of the UT System.
Kevin P. Eltife, chairman of the board of regents, said the vote to expand free tuition is “one of the most meaningful and rewarding actions the regents would ever undertake during their terms.
“To be in a position to make sure our students can attend a UT institution without accruing more debt is very important to all of us, and as long as we are here, we will continue our work to provide an affordable, accessible education to all who choose to attend a UT institution,” he said.
In 2019, the regents established a $167 million endowment at the University of Texas at Austin to cover tuition and “mandatory fees” for instate undergrad students whose families have a gross adjusted income of up to $65,000. The regents also established a $300 million endowment called Promise Plus to expand the program to include all UT academic institutions.
To qualify for Promise Plus and the institutional programs it makes possible, students must be Texas residents, enroll full-time in undergraduate programs, and apply for applicable federal and state financial aid.
The Promise Plus program has had an immediate impact on UT institutions. For example, UTEP increased no-cost tuition opportunities to 450 additional students in 2022 over 2021, and it raised the threshold of eligibility from $60,000 to $75,000, reaching 75% of households in the region.
UT Rio Grande Valley covers over 90% of its resident undergraduates, making it the largest no-cost tuition program in Texas and one of the largest in the US.