Sep. 4—AUSTIN — Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar reminds families that enrollment in the Texas Tuition Promise Fund, the state's prepaid college tuition plan, began Sept. 1 and runs through Feb. 28, 2025.
The Texas Tuition Promise Fund offers parents and loved ones the chance to prepay a child's future undergraduate resident tuition and schoolwide required fees at Texas public colleges and universities at today's prices, excluding medical and dental schools. The $25 application fee to enroll in the plan will be waived for September and October enrollments. (Enrollments by mail must be postmarked by Oct. 31, 2024.)
"As families all over Texas embark on a new school year, now is the perfect time to think about the Texas Tuition Promise Fund, which gives families an additional tool to help plan for their children's future education," Hegar said in a news release. "Planning today is a good way to put your child on a path to a college education. The sooner you start, the more affordable it could be."
Participants in the plan purchase "tuition units" that can be used later toward undergraduate resident tuition and schoolwide required fees at Texas public colleges and universities, excluding medical and dental schools. Prices are based on 2024-25 academic year costs for the state's public colleges and universities.
— Type I tuition units, priced for undergraduate resident tuition and schoolwide required fees at the most expensive Texas public four-year university or college, cost $164.92 per unit.
— Type II tuition units, based on the weighted average cost of undergraduate resident tuition and schoolwide required fees across Texas public four-year universities and colleges, cost $115.75 per unit.
— Type III tuition units, based on the weighted average cost of in-district tuition and schoolwide required fees across Texas public two-year community colleges, cost $31.58 per unit.
Under the plan, 100 tuition units equal roughly one academic year consisting of 30 semester hours of undergraduate resident tuition and schoolwide required fees at the Texas public school that most closely matches the tuition unit's pricing base. Participants can purchase up to 600 Type I tuition units — approximately six academic years — or the dollar equivalent of Type II or III tuition units.
The plan has flexible payment options with each contract, including lump-sum payments, installment payments that include a 6 percent interest charge, or pay-as-you-go payments. The pay-as-you-go payment option enables participants to gradually add more tuition units as the family budget allows based on tuition unit prices at the time of purchase. Enrollment in a pay-as-you-go contract requires purchase of at least one tuition unit of any type; future payments can be as low as $15. An online calculator provides pricing estimates on the type and number of tuition units currently needed for any two- or four-year Texas public college or university.