UTEP President Heather Wilson announced the higher PayDirt Promise income specify Wednesday, joined by UT System Chancellor James Milliken and UT System Board of Regents Chairman Kevin Eltife .
“ We are an exceeding research university that keeps the door receptive to opportunity for any student willing to work for it, ” Wilson said. “ For our students, the greatest barrier to a life-changing college department of education continues to be fiscal ; it ’ s the cost. ”
The PayDirt Promise launched in 2019 at a family income limit of $ 40,000. It ’ randomness since expanded to its current $ 60,000 limit. undergraduate students whose families meet that threshold are eligible to have their full tutelage and compulsory fees covered for four years after other fiscal aid is applied if they are Texas residents and enrolled for at least 12 credit hours.
Submitting the release Application for Student Aid annually and maintaining a 2.0 grad decimal point modal are besides program requirements .
UTEP President Heather Wilson announces the new $75,000 family income threshold for PayDirt Promise, UTEP’s free tuition program, on Wednesday. (Angela Saavedra/El Paso Matters)
about a third gear of UTEP undergraduate students have a family income of $ 20,000 or less, Wilson said .
This class, 6,800 UTEP students qualified for the PayDirt Promise. The higher kin income restrict is expected to reach an extra 450 students following year .
The UT System Board of Regents established a $ 300 million endowment late survive month to grow tuition-free programs at seven of its schools, including UTEP. The Promise Plus fund is expected to generate $ 15 million this year, of which UTEP is receiving $ 2.5 million .
UTEP was the first university to announce the expansion of its loose tuition aid platform using endowment funds.
“ We know that public higher department of education is the catalyst for success. … But the exit of price of education remains a challenge for many families, ” Milliken said at Wednesday ’ second announcement .
Milliken described the new UT System endowment as “ a major permanent tone to make UTEP even more low-cost for generations to come. ”
The family income brink varies across UT System schools ’ tutelage aid programs, with the University of Texas Rio Grande presently having the highest at $ 95,000. Schools besides set their own eligibility requirements .
Recipients of UTEP’s PayDirt Promise program, who have had their tuition and mandatory fees fully covered by the university, attend an announcement about the program’s expansion Wednesday. (Angela Saavedra/El Paso Matters)
UTEP largely funds its PayDirt Promise by setting aside some of its annual tutelage gross.
Federico Moncada, a junior kinesiology student at UTEP, said he receives up to $ 1,000 each semester from the PayDirt program to pay the remaining tutelage balance wheel not covered by fiscal help. He said the platform allows him to worry less about his finances .
“ I don ’ t have to take money from my pocket, ” Moncada said. “ I have a half-time caper and I ’ m an athlete thus I don ’ t have adequate time to work a fortune and pay for my classes. ”
Cover photograph : UT System Chancellor James Milliken speaks about the expansion of UTEP ’ s PayDirt Promise tuition aid program on Wednesday. ( Angela Saavedra/El Paso Matters )
