LUBBOCK, Texas– As college loans sit on the forefront of issues in the nation, the University of Texas made headway this week, announcing a program that will pay the tuition and fees of in-state students whose families make a gross income of $65,000 or less a year.

In addition, it would provide assistance to students with families of incomes $125,000 or less a year, according to the announcement.

In an effort to increase access to higher education, Texas Tech University developed a similar program in 2007, Red Raider Guarantee, a plan that promises free tuition and fees for in-state students whose family’s adjusted gross income is $40,000 or less a year.

In 2018, 979 students participated in the program (3.3% of undergraduate population). In the Fall of 2019, approximately 1,500 students are enrolled (approximately 5%).

“Ours is a legacy of commitment we have had for 12 years and that’s something we don’t want to lose sight of,” said Ethan Logan, Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management at Texas Tech.

Texas Tech’s program is funded by tuition set-aside funds, or revenue collected by student tuition.

“After federal aid, after state aid, after potential scholarships that students earn in academic performance, we use all the pieces we have left to make sure we fulfill that commitment,” Logan said.

The University of Texas will draw from an endowment they created using the Permanent University Fund (PUC), a state fund collecting money from leased oil and gas property in West Texas. The University of Texas and Texas A&M system schools are the only institutions with access to this fund.

“Personally, I would love for Texas Tech University to be invoked into the PUF family,” Logan said. “Do I think there are wonderful opportunities from all PUF? Sure. But that’s a question for Texas state legislatures to consider.”

Logan said he does not believe this new announcement by UT Austin will have a negative impact on their own enrollment.

“What our alumni have accomplished, the quality of our faculty and the research cultivated at our institution, those things are all a part of our brand and a marketable commodity that is a Texas Tech degree,” Logan said.

However, Logan added it is the institution’s goal to continue to make education affordable, and discussions to increase the income salary cap on their program would be a good idea in the future.

“It would be something that would take some time and commitment to match but its something we can do,” Logan said. “Eventually we may be able to get there and that would be a wonderful time in higher education.”

Angelo State University, a school within the Texas Tech University System, has a similar program called the Blue and Gold Guarantee Program.