UT System Regents greatly expand affordability and access to Texans through 'Promise Plus' program

AUSTIN, TEXAS (November 20, 2024) – Today, the University of Texas System Board of Regents’ Academic Affairs Committee gave preliminary approval to provide UT undergraduates attending any of its nine academic institutions, whose families have an adjusted gross income (AGI) of $100,000 or less, with tuition free education, beginning next fall. After the full Board’s consideration and vote tomorrow, the plan will include a new, immediate infusion of $35 million directly to the campuses to make the UT System the first in Texas, and one of the few in the U.S., to offer such a sweeping financial aid benefit.  It also directs additional investment in its endowments supporting financial aid, ensuring the commitment of tuition relief in perpetuity. The combination of these actions today will ensure that average student debt at UT academic institutions continues to decline. Today it is the lowest across Texas public four-year universities.

This is a next significant step in the Regents’ ongoing commitment to guarantee that every qualified Texan who aims to earn a bachelor’s degree from a UT institution can do so, regardless of financial circumstances.  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 AGI 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. The Promise Plus endowment supplemented the universities’ existing financial aid programs to reach more need-based qualified students, with eligibility thresholds at $65,000 and above.

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