Overall Rating Bronze - expired
Overall Score 32.74
Liaison William Hargrove
Submission Date April 29, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

University of Texas at El Paso
PA-8: Affordability and Access

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.04 / 4.00 Ron Williams
Associate Director
Office of Financial Aid
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Does the institution have policies and programs in place to make it accessible and affordable to low-income students?:
Yes

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A brief description of any policies and programs to minimize the cost of attendance for low-income students:
Imagine yourself a freshman or first time transfer student at UTEP next fall - with tuition and mandatory fees covered! It's our promise that we'll help qualified students meet the financial challenges of attending the university. How does it work? -Covers all tuition and mandatory fees for 15 credit hours fall and spring semesters -Does not cover incidental fees, course-related fees or individual major fees Does not cover summer semester Who is eligibile? -New freshmen with family income of $30,000 or less -Must be a Texas resident and qualify for Texas resident tuition -First time transfer students to UTEP You Must: -Complete 30 credit hours each year -we encourage students to enroll 15 credit hours fall and spring semester -earn a GPA of 2.0 or higher -Complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid(FAFSA) yearly

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A brief description of any programs to equip the institution’s faculty and staff to better serve students from low-income backgrounds:
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A brief description of any programs to prepare students from low-income backgrounds for higher education:
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A brief description of the institution's scholarships for low-income students:
While institutional scholarships are strictly merit based awards, there are some donors who require that the students have financial need which is determined from the results of the FAFSA application. At this time, 8% of all institutional scholarship requires financial need. Low-income students are eligible for the other 92% of scholarships since they are open to need so long as they meet the merit criterion.

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A brief description of any programs to guide parents of low-income students through the higher education experience:
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A brief description of any targeted outreach to recruit students from low-income backgrounds:
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A brief description of other admissions policies or programs to make the institution accessible and affordable to low-income students:
The University of Texas at El Paso has several pathways to admission providing a student with various academic backgrounds the opportunity to attend UTEP. Pathway 1 allows top 10% graduates from a Texas high school to be automatically admitted to the university. Pathway 2 requires students to meet a high school rank and SAT/ACT score combination. Pathway 3 requires a student to meet college readiness benchmarks set by the state through the Texas Success Initiative (TSI) Assessment Exam. Lastly a reviewed admission based on the TSI assessment scores below the college readiness standard which allows students to be admitted to a provisional program called START. This program provides additional services to assist the student during the first year of enrollment.

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A brief description of other financial aid policies or programs to make the institution accessible and affordable to low-income students:
The financial Aid office is prepared to assist low-income and part-time students.

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A brief description of other policies and programs to make the institution accessible and affordable to low-income students not covered above:
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Does the institution have policies and programs in place to support non-traditional students?:
Yes

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A brief description of any scholarships provided specifically for part-time students:
At this time, all institutional scholarships require full-time enrollment. There is a university policy, however, that allows graduate students in their final semester who are part-time to be considered as full-time students while completing their dissertation/thesis.

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A brief description of any onsite child care facilities, partnerships with local facilities, and/or subsidies or financial support to help meet the child care needs of students:
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A brief description of other policies and programs to support non-traditional students:
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Does the institution wish to pursue Part 2 of this credit (accessibility and affordability indicators)?:
Yes

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Indicators that the institution is accessible and affordable to low-income students::
Percentage (0-100)
The percentage of entering students that are low-income ---
The graduation/success rate for low-income students 40.90
The percentage of student financial need met, on average 62.30
The percentage of students graduating with no interest-bearing student loan debt 0.44

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The percentage of students that participate in or directly benefit from the institution’s policies and programs to support low-income and non-traditional students:
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The website URL where information about the institution's affordability and access programs is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The 6-year graduation rate of first-time, full-time degree-seeking low income undergraduate students is 40.9%. The 1-year retention rate is 77.6%. Also, see Internal Notes

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.