AUSTIN, Texas — Austin Community College’s (ACC) free tuition pilot program, launched in the fall of 2024, is already showing promising results, with enrollment and retention rates on the rise.
The program, which offers free tuition for up to three years — or five years for students pursuing a bachelor’s degree — is available to recent high school graduates and GED recipients within ACC’s service area.
According to ACC officials, the initiative has driven a 40% increase in enrollment among high school graduates last fall. Eighteen-year-old Cassidy Hernandez is one of almost 5,000 new students benefiting from the program.
“My grandma called me crying when she found out,” Hernandez said. “She told me, ‘You get to go to college for free.’ … I don’t have to worry or stress about anything like that and can focus on my classes.”
Hernandez, who is pursuing her passion for culinary arts, said the financial relief has also helped her family. With five younger siblings, she said burdening her parents for the money wasn’t an option, but ACC’s free tuition program was.
The program has also had a ripple effect on ACC’s academic departments.
Carolynn Campbell Reed, chair of ACC’s mathematics department, said demand for math courses surged by 22% compared to the previous year. To accommodate the influx of students, the department added 74 new sections and hired 22 additional adjunct teachers.
“It was kind of shocking just how much demand there was,” Reed said. “And even with the new classes, they filled up quickly.”
Reed emphasized that financial barriers are often a deciding factor for students considering higher education. According to Reed, she’s seen hard-working students drop out of classes to work more hours.
“If someone can come in and not have that financial burden stick with them beyond college, it’s a huge deal,” Reed said.
Reed added that free tuition also opens up options for students and what they want to pursue without being held back by the cost. As students navigate what they want to do, Reed said they can explore a wide range of classes offered.
The program has also demonstrated strong retention rates. ACC reports that 81% of students who enrolled in the free tuition program last fall returned for the spring semester — a higher rate than non-participants. ACC officials anticipate even higher enrollment numbers next fall as word about the program spreads and more students take advantage of the opportunity.
For many, like Hernandez, they can afford to focus on dreams rather than debt.
“I’m very grateful and blessed to have this free tuition so that I can also go to college, but also not only for me, but my younger siblings as well,” Hernandez said.