Summary
The University of Texas System has approved a tuition-free program for undergraduate students from families earning $100,000 or less, starting next fall.
The initiative, funded by an immediate $35 million in endowments and long-term investments, seeks to lower student debt and improve access to higher education.
Qualifying students must be Texas residents, enroll full-time, and apply for financial aid.
While the program builds on previous UT tuition relief efforts funded by endowments and oil royalties, critics, including Texas lawmakers, have called it unconstitutional and proposed cutting UT’s budget.
This is nice to hear but there are lots of expenses besides tuition. Like housing, books, food, “fees”, etc. If the program costs just $35mm in a huge university like that, you know it’s not covering much. Source: this was sort of the situation at my old school. Tuition was fairly low back then, but everything else still added up.
Holy fuck. You literally cannot win with some people.
It’s a good positive step but there’s still a way to go. Headline makes it sound different.
Your point on addtional costs stands, but it looks like the 35 Million isn’t the wh9le picture.
Unless I’m misreading the article this program is, rather than new, an extension and expansion of their previous 2019 tuition assistance plan.
I didn’t see the details of this new plan but extrapolating, they still offer reduced or dismissed fees on a sliding income scale.
If you live close enough and source your books from somewhere else than the campus bookstore you solve most of these problems. Unless a course uses Pearson, fuck Pearson.