AUSTIN, Texas — Beginning next fall, some students accepted into schools within the University of Texas system will receive free tuition and have all fees waived, the board of regents announced on Wednesday.
In order to qualify, families of undergraduates must make less than $100,000 a year.
The board gave preliminary approval to the plan on Wednesday. After the full board’s consideration and vote on Thursday, the plan will include a new, immediate infusion of $35 million directly to campuses to offer the financial aid benefit. The plan also directs additional investment in endowments supporting financial aid to ensure a commitment for tuition relief.
In 2019, the regents established a $167 million endowment at UT Austin to completely cover tuition and mandatory fees for in-state undergraduate students from families with an income of up to $65,000. In 2022, the regents approved a second endowment of almost $300 million called “Promise Plus” to extend the program to all UT academic institutions.
“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,” Kevin P. Eltife, chairman of the board of regents, said. "By making both immediate campus allocations as we did today, as well as continued long-term investments in our Promise Plus endowments, we want hard-working Texas families and students to know that we will do everything in our power to support their higher education aspirations today and always.”
The UT system has nine universities, including UT Austin.