AUSTIN, Texas — It’s a chance to walk across the graduation stage without having to walk through debt for the rest of their lives.
While the reaction has mostly been excitement about the University of Texas system to expand its free tuition program, some state lawmakers claim it’s an abuse of power.
UT system chairman Kevin Eltife said the expansion to their “Promise Plus” program is a game changer.
“This is so meaningful for so many people,” Eltife said. “There are so many people who think they don’t have the opportunity to go on to higher education. They think it’s out of their reach.”
The expansion will provide free tuition to families who make less than $100,000 annually. The board started the program in 2019, providing free tuition for families who made less than $65,000. But with the cost of living and tuition rising across the nation, the board wanted to make a change.
While the reaction has mostly been excitement about the University of Texas System Board of Regents plan to expand the free tuition program, some state lawmakers claim it’s an abuse of power.
After the announcement, State Rep. Brian Harrison posted on social media that the move was “an absolute abuse of power by executive branch bureaucrats” because the “Legislature never approved it.”
But for many others, the expansion of this program is a sigh of relief.
“People are celebrating this. This is a relief,” said founder and CEO of Access College America Dale Price. “This is a relief. Parents are really, really excited that they now have opportunities that send their kid to college that is not going to put them in debt for the rest of their life.”
Price owns a college consulting agency and works with incoming college students and their parents. He said getting rid of the barrier to higher education is going to open up many new doors for them.
“That alone is going to be great because if they want to continue their education for grad school, or maybe they want to look at making a housing purchase, they have these opportunities,” Price said. “They’re not taking this debt with them to the grave.”
Now that the board has taken their official vote on the project, $35 million will be immediately going to each of the UT campuses for financial aid. The Board said more than 7 million Texas families will be eligible for this expanded program.
The board also said they’re not done with the project and will continue to look for ways to build on the endowments to increase the income level they provide free tuition to.
Meanwhile, nearly a dozen members of the Texas House reportedly issued a letter to Eltife asking for clarification and more information regarding the program.