DENTON, Texas — Texas Woman's University will not increase its tuition next fall after Gov. Greg Abbott ordered that Texas colleges and universities continue to freeze their tuition over the next two years.
The Texas Woman's University System Board of Regents previously approved a tuition increase for both graduate and undergraduate students, according to summaries of the board's February and November meetings. In November, Regents recommended a 3.7% increase in tuition and fees for undergraduates and a 2.79% for graduate students.
Several days later, Gov. Greg Abbott sent a letter to colleges and universities saying he would not support any tuition increases over the next two years, and in turn, committed to working to prioritize college affordability in the next legislative session, according to the Texas Tribune.
"The State has made historic investments in higher education, including increased funding for universities and financial aid programs,” Abbott wrote in his letter.
The freeze only applies to undergraduate tuition and TWU Regents plan to rescind the undergraduate tuition increase at a future board meeting, a spokesperson for TWU said in a statement.
"Texas Woman’s will comply with the governor’s directive to freeze tuition, and looks forward to working with the Legislature during the next session to address higher education funding to meet the critical workforce needs of the state," the university said in a statement. "It is too early to say what kind of impact freezing tuition next fall would have, as we will know more about state funding after the budget passes."
In February, regents authorized a $35-per-semester-credit hour tuition increase for graduate students beginning this fall.
"The increases are needed to offset rising instructional and operational costs. Our graduate tuition rate was not much different from the undergraduate," a summary of the February board meeting reads. "Yet, graduate courses are often more expensive to teach due to smaller class sizes and many other factors. This move will align us more with our peers’ grad-undergrad tuition differential, keeping us competitive in our excellence for the long run."
