University of Texas at Austin
PA-8: Affordability and Access

In addition to traditional federal, State, and institutional financial aid options through the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid, UT Austin is committed to making higher education accessible and affordable for students from low- and middle-income families. The Texas Advance Commitment expanded in 2020 to ensure that incoming freshmen and now transfer students with family adjusted gross incomes of up to $65,000 have tuition covered and families with between $65,001 to $125,000 (previously $100,000) who have financial need will receive institutional need-based aid financial aid.

Starting with a 2020 cohort of students, the UT for Me - powered by Dell Scholars program is a partnership with the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation and the University of Texas at Austin that is dedicated to closing the gap in college graduation rates across income levels. By providing Pell-eligible undergraduate students entering in 2020 and beyond with both programming and financial support that includes laptops, book credits, emergency funds, and dedicated programming and staff support.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, UT Austin was awarded Federal Emergency Relief funds (Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund – HEERF) to be directly issued to students to meet emergency financial needs during the height of the pandemic. Emergency funds were issued to students by block grant funding based upon financial need on the FAFSA, application supported funding, and student past debt discharge. More information can be found here: https://onestop.utexas.edu/cares-act-compliance/

In 2020, UT Austin opened the Texas One Stop to centralize, both physically and digitally, services for Financial Aid, Registrar, and Student Accounts Receivable. Texas One Stop will make UT Austin more easily accessible to all students, and particularly to those relying on financial aid to support their studies.

Texas Financial Wellness was created to help improve the financial health and security of all UT students. Through one-on-one counseling and workshops, a dedicated team provides students the tools and resources they need to make healthy, financial decisions during their academic career, and beyond graduation.

With funding support from the University Innovation Alliance and the UT Co-Op, UT Austin began offering completion scholarships. These are typically small amounts of funding, averaging around $1000, to support students' needs that could otherwise result in leaving UT Austin without completing a degree. Typically, these funds may support tuition costs of a summer course to get or stay on track for four-year graduation.

UT Austin is addressing food insecurity through the new UT Outpost food pantry and through a new study examining the impact of providing meal plans to students with high financial need.

For students from selected low-income high schools across Texas, UT Austin has collaborated with college access platform RaiseMe to award students for studying, volunteering, and getting involved in their community. Students can earn "micro-scholarships" during their years in high school to begin preparing for their undergraduate experience at UT Austin.

UT Outreach targets and serves underrepresented students by providing college readiness enrichment activities designed to assist them in graduating from high school and matriculating to institutions of higher education, including The University of Texas at Austin. Five UT Outreach Centers located in Austin, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and South Texas work with low-income and first-generation students in targeted low-income, underserved high schools. The Outreach Centers have vigorous programs that includes tutoring, study skills workshops, workshops to prepare for the SAT and ACT exams, assistance with college applications, and special programming for parents and guardians to educate them regarding student needs to be college eligible.

http://diversity.utexas.edu/schoolpartnerships/ut-outreach/

Similarly, the Advise Texas program is in 15 different low-income high schools around the state. Recent UT Austin graduates serve as college advisers at the schools, supporting students as they navigate the complex processes of college admissions, matriculation and securing financial aid. The advisers serve all students in a school and focus on helping students find the best college setting to suit their needs. Advisers help students weigh factors such as institutional characteristics, academic requirements, costs, financial aid and possible careers within a chosen field of study. Advisers encourage students to apply to three or more institutions so that they will have many options to choose from.

http://diversity.utexas.edu/schoolpartnerships/advise-tx/

UT partners with hundreds of non-profit and education organizations to offer programming for low income, first generation, and underrepresented students in the central Texas area and across the state. The Division of Diversity and Community Engagement alone collaborates with 300 community organizations to cultivate mutually beneficial community-university partnerships that further the mission of UT to serve Texas and beyond, with an emphasis on historically and currently underserved communities. Some of those organizations include the National Hispanic Institute, 100 Black Men Inc., Con Mi MADRE (Mothers and Daughters Raising Expectations), My Brother’s Keeper, The Thinkery, Google Community Leaders Program, and many others.

UTransition is a program within the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement’s Longhorn Center for Academic Excellence (LCAE). It is geared for students who transfer from community colleges or other four-year institutions to the University of Texas at Austin. The program provides academic support as well as social activities, peer mentoring and advising from the LCAE staff.

http://diversity.utexas.edu/academiccenter/utransition/

The Division of Diversity and Community Engagement also houses the Multicultural Engagement Center, the Gender and Sexuality Center and Services for Students with Disabilities which provide support (academic and social) for students of color, LGBTQ students and women, and students with disabilities. The GSC also has occasional special programs for students who are parents.

The Longhorn TIES (Transition, Inclusion, Empower, Success) initiative supports students with complex needs, such as autism. The TIES program seeks to enhance the student experience for those who identify as being on the autism spectrum or neurodiverse through advocacy, connection and training throughout the students academic career.
https://newstudentservices.utexas.edu/content/about-longhorn-ties

Links to these programs:
http://ddce.utexas.edu/multiculturalengagement
http://ddce.utexas.edu/genderandsexuality
http://ddce.utexas.edu/disability

There is also a Veterans and Military Affiliated Services office on campus which provides a one-stop shop for veterans with regard to academic, social and health care services.
http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/veterans

The Office of Institutional Equity offers an Inclusive Classroom Leadership series of training to help teaching assistants and faculty members understand students from diverse backgrounds and better serve those students in the classroom.

http://equity.utexas.edu/education/inclusive-classrooms/

https://texasadvance.utexas.edu/