Starting in fall 2020, The University of Texas at Austin will pay all tuition and fees for in-state undergraduate students from families that earn up to $65,000 a year who have financial need, according to a Tuesday statement from the UT Board of Regents.
The move comes after the Board of Regents unanimously agreed Tuesday to establish a $160 million endowment from a distribution of the state of Texas' Permanent University Fund.
The fund will also provide some support to students from families with incomes of up to $125,000 that also qualify for financial assistance. And the endowment will be in effect for qualifying transfer students, according to the statement.
The Permanent University Fund "includes money from oil and gas royalties earned on state-owned land in West Texas," according to the statement.
This endowment will allow UT Austin to provide assistance to more than 14,000 new students.
“This will benefit students of our great state for years to come," UT Board of Regents chairman Kevin Eltife said in the statement.
In 2017, the the median household income in Texas was $59,206, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The annual average cost of undergraduate in-state tuition and fees is $10,314, according to the statement.
“I am grateful to the UT System Board of Regents and Chairman Kevin Eltife for prioritizing students and investing in the future of our great state,” UT Austin President Gregory L. Fenves said.