Guaranteed Tuition Plan Keeping Costs Manageable

This fall, nearly 6,000 students at UT Dallas paid no tuition increase when they returned to school.

More than half – 64 percent of students, or 9,558 – will do the same next fall. All participate in the University’s Guaranteed Tuition Plan, which locks in tuition and mandatory fee expense pricing for up to four years.

Most of the students taking advantage of the tuition lock are undergraduates (3,831), although graduate students (1,988) can also participate.  The tuition pricing guarantee was enacted in 2007. The entire student body will eventually fall under the tuition lock program.
The figures on tuition lock were released with fall 2008 enrollment statistics. 

“In a time of great economic uncertainty, we’re offering some predictability and security by promising to keep the cost of higher education at the same level for four years of a student’s commitment to attending UT Dallas,” said UT Dallas President David E. Daniel. 

When implemented in fall 2007, the Guaranteed Tuition program covered 4,316 students.  That same semester, 1,791 continuing students elected to join, and by summer 2008, an additional 1,503 students had joined.  

“We want to help students and their families know and plan for the cost of their education,” said Curt Eley, vice president for enrollment management.  “In addition, our Guaranteed Tuition Plan provides an incentive to graduate on time because courses taken beyond 15 credit hours are essentially free for in-state students.”

Under the plan, undergraduate students enrolling for the first time in the fall 2008 semester are charged for tuition and mandatory fees fixed at the fall 2008 rates for all succeeding semesters through the summer of 2012. 

The charge per semester credit hour for tuition and mandatory fees depends on the number of hours for which a student enrolls.  In addition to tuition and mandatory fees, there are program-specific fees of at least $40 per semester credit hour that apply to courses offered by certain programs, such as electrical engineering, management and arts and technology, among others.

New students who enroll at UT Dallas for the 2009-10 academic year will pay tuition and mandatory fees at a new rate, which will also be guaranteed for the following four years.  The rate remains subject to increase each successive year.  

 “UT Dallas is one of only a handful of public universities in the U.S. that offer this sort of tuition guarantee,” Eley added.  “I believe that makes us an outstanding value for budget-conscious families.”  

Charges per semester credit hour for tuition and mandatory fees depend on the number of hours for which a student enrolls, up to 15.

Students from out of state pay a differential rate per credit hour.  Other non-mandatory fees, for such expenses as parking and housing, are subject to change.

Those who began their studies at a community college are also able to take advantage of guaranteed tuition under the Comet Connection program. 

For that plan, students who enrolled for the 2008-09 academic year at two-year Texas schools can lock in the same fall 2008 rate for new students for the same four-year period as students who start college at UT Dallas. 

Every two-year college in Texas, both public and private, participates in the Comet Connection program.
           
“Through programs like the tuition lock and Comet Connection, students have a unique advantage in that they can predict the cost of their college education,” Eley said.  “It’s our hope that removing the burden of second guessing can provide a bit of financial peace of mind and free them for the important stuff — like pursuing a bachelor’s degree, and perhaps graduate studies, too.”

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