{"id":47033,"date":"2024-01-09T11:42:20","date_gmt":"2024-01-09T16:42:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=47033"},"modified":"2024-01-10T13:58:47","modified_gmt":"2024-01-10T18:58:47","slug":"acc-proposes-waiving-tuition-for-high-school-grads-this-spring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/01\/09\/acc-proposes-waiving-tuition-for-high-school-grads-this-spring\/","title":{"rendered":"ACC proposes free college tuition for high school seniors"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2023\/11\/RS23195_20231106-HLC-BoT-Work-Session-ca-268-1-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-46899\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2023\/11\/RS23195_20231106-HLC-BoT-Work-Session-ca-268-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2023\/11\/RS23195_20231106-HLC-BoT-Work-Session-ca-268-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2023\/11\/RS23195_20231106-HLC-BoT-Work-Session-ca-268-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2023\/11\/RS23195_20231106-HLC-BoT-Work-Session-ca-268-1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2023\/11\/RS23195_20231106-HLC-BoT-Work-Session-ca-268-1-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2023\/11\/RS23195_20231106-HLC-BoT-Work-Session-ca-268-1-1320x881.jpg 1320w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>Austin Community College District (ACC) wants to pilot a new program to make college tuition <strong>FREE<\/strong> for all high school seniors in Central Texas.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>On Monday, January 8, ACC Chancellor Dr. Russell Lowery-Hart presented the bold, new proposal. If approved, it would start this fall and cover the cost of tuition for all high school seniors in the service area who graduate in 2024, with the goal of scaling the program to offer free tuition for everyone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis will be a really powerful project for ACC and our community,\u201d says Dr. Lowery-Hart. \u201cStudents have told us the affordability of college and the subsequent debt they could incur is keeping them away.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Regional data show approximately 12,000 seniors in Central Texas didn&#8217;t attend any type of higher education in Texas after graduating high school last year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think this is the first conversation to our end goal of making college something for everyone. ACC can be a national model. We have the resources and innovation to do something magical,\u201d says Dr. Lowery-Hart. \u201cOur proposal covers the cost of tuition so that financial aid and scholarship dollars can go further and help students pay for their living expenses. That is a game changer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The proposal is a \u201cfirst dollar\u201d program \u2014 meaning the funds from ACC would be the first dollars a student would receive to help cover the costs of college. Students could still apply for Pell grants, financial aid, and scholarships to get additional financial support to help cover other expenses like housing, child care, textbooks, and more.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s Included:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Fund $85 per credit hour for up to 3 years<\/li>\n<li>$67 Resident Tuition<\/li>\n<li>$15 General Fee<\/li>\n<li>$2 Success Fee<\/li>\n<li>$1 Sustainability Fee<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s Not Included:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Out-of-District Fee (currently $201\/SCH)<\/li>\n<li>Non-Residents\/International Students<\/li>\n<li>Any Course\/Program Specific Fees<\/li>\n<li>Textbooks<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Under the program, all high school seniors in the service area who graduate in spring 2024 would have the benefits for a three-year timeframe from their high school graduation to help them work toward completing their associate degree. Those who continue at ACC to pursue a bachelor\u2019s degree would receive two additional years of tuition support.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe cost of going to a university has exploded and fundamentally priced out middle-class families and families living in the warzone of poverty. This program makes a bachelor&#8217;s degree affordable for families,\u201d says Dr. Lower-Hart. \u201cWhat I am most excited about is that, with this application, a student can come to ACC, earn their associate degree, stay, and get one of the four bachelor\u2019s degrees ACC offers for little to no cost. That is going to change lives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>HOW IS IT FUNDED?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Funds for the proposed program are already available within the college\u2019s annual budget. The state appropriations received through House Bill 8 would be used to help fund college programs and expenses, which will ultimately free up dollars to help cover the costs of tuition for these students.<\/p>\n<p>If approved, the college hopes to expand partnerships and grow the pilot program to all students.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe think this program can eventually unlock higher education to everyone our community who needs it but doesn\u2019t think they can afford it,\u201d says Dr. Lowery-Hart. \u201cWe\u2019ll use the pilot program as a test case to build out the systems and monitor the impact and success rates. If we can then work with our partners and continue to fundraise, we can scale it for all students. It could change not just individual and family lives, but the economic power of our community.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The college expects to present a formal plan for the pilot program to the Board of Trustees in February.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Austin Community College District (ACC) wants to pilot a new program to make college tuition FREE for all high school seniors in Central Texas.&nbsp; On Monday, January 8, ACC Chancellor Dr. Russell Lowery-Hart presented the &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/01\/09\/acc-proposes-waiving-tuition-for-high-school-grads-this-spring\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3930,"featured_media":47035,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,15,17,18,19],"tags":[2049,2526,301,153],"class_list":["post-47033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-students","category-facstaff-news","category-news-and-announcements","category-official-acc-press-releases","category-students-and-alumni","tag-board-meeting","tag-free-tuition","tag-graduates","tag-high-school"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3930"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47033"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47033\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}