Two North Texas universities are part of an effort to help struggling families afford college.
With 45 million Americans dealing with student debt, universities are doing what they can to alleviate the burden.
There's a new and growing effort to help struggling families pay for college, and two schools in North Texas are a part of it.
In February, the UT System Board of Regents approved a new $300 million endowment called the "Promise Plus" program. Starting in the fall semester, it will provide enhanced tuition assistance to eligible students at seven UT institutions: UT Arlington, UT Dallas, UT El Paso, UT Permian Basin, UT Rio Grande Valley, UT San Antonio and UT Tyler.
In 2019, Regents had already created a $167 million endowment to provide tuition support for students at UT Austin.
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These new funds being distributed to schools like UT Arlington and UT Dallas will give thousands of more local students access to funding they've never had before for their futures.
UT Dallas can now expand its already existing Comet Promise program, which offers free tuition coverage for those with a family income of less than $65,000 per year. Before the additional endowment money, the program only covered tuition for incomes less than $25,000 a year.
“The students who benefit from this support are among the best and brightest,” said UT Dallas President Richard C. Benson in a press statement. “They are our future leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators. I am incredibly grateful for this support and what it means to our mission at the University.”
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The new money is also helping UT Arlington officially launch its new Blaze Forward program, covering tuition for undergrads with family income below $85,000 per year. UTA expects to help about 4,000 students in the coming year to start.
"There's definitely a social responsibility here among universities, especially to make sure that universities are accessible,” said Troy Johnson, vice president of enrollment management at UTA. "We want to be sure that people don't get left behind. Bright people -- people that are going to become great engineers, doctors, nurses, lawyers, historians, and economists. They come from all walks of life and all income levels. So making sure that lower income families aren't left out as we move forward is a really positive step."
He said more programs like this are happening across the country as the outcry grows to help ease the burden of student debt.
"This really came also at a very important time because COVID-19 has shown a negative impact on low-income families and the college attendance rate. The data is starting to be very clear that it's a very large impact,” Johnson said. “And so, this now can counter that. The timing of it is really very, very good.”
Kelly Phan, a UTA freshman with dreams of becoming a paramedic, just found out she is eligible for the new "Blaze Forward" program.
She said her mother works as a nail tech in Arlington, making only up to $30,000 a year to support a family of five.
“You can imagine she's worked hard and I love her for it. She's worked hard and raised a family on her own and I'm so proud of her for it. I'm so thankful that she's kept us alive,” Phan said.
Phan said like her older brother, she completely depends on scholarships and financial aid to pay for college. The tricky part is how competitive those scholarships are, even if you have good grades.
Applying for that money can also feel like a full-time job.
“For every scholarship you apply for, I've probably applied to maybe like 100 scholarships,” Phan said.
Phan said she almost wondered how she would get through the rest of college without going into major debt until the new endowment money from the UT system became available.
"I have been taking like the cheapest options to save money as much as I can. And I'm still struggling to help pay this off,” she said.
But now, the path is much more clear for Phan and so many other students who won’t have to worry as much about the money.
"Having a peace of mind of having that money is just going to really help them focus more on studying and the academic aspect of college,” she said.
Phan is on track to receive the new benefits starting this fall for her sophomore year.
As the Blaze Forward program grows, UTA officials hope to cover tuition for more than 4,600 students a year.
“We want to make a UTA education even more attainable and give strong financial assurances to families and students in need,” said Teik C. Lim, interim president. “By devoting more of our resources toward the success of our students, we’re investing in the future of our University, and in the promise and potential of thousands of talented current and future Mavericks from North Texas and beyond.”
The new Promise Plus funding from the UT system applies not just to new students, but current students.
Only full-time, undergraduate students who are Texas residents, fill out the FAFSA and qualify for need-based aid are eligible to receive Promise Plus funds. Individual institutions may have additional criteria and will be determining how many students will be served by the Promise Plus funding. Check with your school's financial aid office for more information.
If you're not attending a UT system campus, check with your school's financial aid office for financial aid options. Many campuses are involved in the Texas Grant, which is open to students at any public university in Texas. Read more information about that program online.
"UTA and many colleges and universities are going to be committed to students that may not meet these criteria though, too. So though this is a wonderful program, and it will guarantee tuition and fees, we also have very robust financial aid and scholarship programs in our university," Johnson said. "An important message is that others don't need to feel left out necessarily. They may not get this exact program and their financial support may be a little bit different, but we're going to be working as much as we can to be sure that the affordability is there for talented students."
