AUSTIN, Texas — Thanks to the University of Texas System Board of Regents, more future Longhorns will attend The University of Texas at Austin with tuition fully paid or at a deeply discounted rate.
This week, the UT System committed to provide free tuition to undergraduates whose families have an adjusted gross income (AGI) of $100,000 or less, a significant increase from the current threshold at UT Austin of $65,000. This new threshold will apply to students at all UT System institutions. The expansion advances the UT System’s Promise Plus initiative, which dedicates significant resources to increasing affordability statewide. At UT Austin, this initiative is called Texas Advance Commitment (TAC).
“We do not want affordability to be a barrier to a first-class college education, and we are extremely thankful to the Board of Regents for making this incredible investment and inspiring our collective vision to make our University affordable and accessible for all Texans who earn a spot on the Forty Acres,” said UT President Jay Hartzell. “We are thrilled to welcome even more students and families to Longhorn Nation who may not have otherwise considered UT Austin. Applications are open through Dec. 1, so I encourage interested future Longhorns to apply today.”
Currently, 14,500 UT Austin undergraduates — one-third of UT’s undergraduate student population — benefit from TAC. University officials estimate an additional 3,000 students will benefit from the program expansion. Prior to the Board of Regents’ new commitment, TAC investments, along with other forms of financial aid and scholarships, helped to reduce the average net tuition paid by in-state undergraduates to $4,152 per year.
The expansion of TAC builds upon the University’s efforts to increase affordability and access across the board, which include:
- Now in its second year, UT’s housing affordability scholarship program offsets housing costs up to $2,300 per academic year for students who are eligible through TAC and who live in University residence halls. For the 2024-25 academic year, 3,680 students received this scholarship.
- UT for Me — Powered by Dell Scholars provides financial awards to Pell Grant-eligible freshmen from families with the greatest need, as well as a laptop and annual textbook credits.
- In partnership with the University Co-op, UT now offers a University Co-op Course Materials Scholarship to reduce the cost of course materials for all students who qualify for TAC.
- Earlier this year, the University announced it would add 800 beds in a new undergraduate housing complex along Whitis Avenue.
- This fall, the 784-bed East Campus Graduate Housing complex opened.
Kevin P. Eltife, chairman of the Board of Regents, described this week’s action as 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,” Eltife 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.”
“What is particularly gratifying to me, and to UT presidents, is that the regents are not only addressing immediate needs of our current students, but they are taking the long view, ensuring that future generations will continue to benefit from this remarkable program,” said UT System Chancellor James B. Milliken. “Across UT institutions, enrollment is growing, and student debt is declining, indicating success in both access and affordability. That’s a rare trend in American higher education, and I’m proud the UT System is in a position to be a leader.”
Promise Plus Funding History
- Established in 2018, TAC is UT Austin’s commitment to making a UT education even more affordable, more transparent and understandable for Texas students and families from middle- and low-income backgrounds who have the greatest financial need.
- 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 adjusted gross income of up to $65,000, and with support to alleviate much of tuition costs for families earning up to $125,000.
- In 2022, the regents doubled down with a second endowment of almost $300 million — collectively called Promise Plus — to extend the program to all UT academic institutions, which supplemented the universities’ existing financial aid programs to reach more need-based qualified students, with eligibility thresholds at $65,000 and above.
