An associate of arts degree from Tarrant County College will cost 15% more next school year after trustees approved new fees to offset budget strain.
Students will face additional charges for a range of classes and services including for courses with labs, applications for international students and a general fee of $10 per credit hour for courses.
New academic fees — totaling $672 over two years — will bring the price of an associate of arts degree from $4,440 up to $5,112, according to a presentation given by Chief Financial Officer Pamela Anglin said at the Feb. 26 TCC board meeting.
TCC is under financial pressure in part due to a statewide tuition freeze of public colleges and universities through the 2026-27 school year, officials said. Tarrant college officials had previously planned to increase tuition by $5 per year, Anglin said.
Decreasing property tax revenue as a result of an appraisal freeze and exemptions is also a contributing factor, Anglin said.
TCC garners about 70% of its revenue from property taxes, the highest percentage among Texas community colleges, according to Anglin’s presentation.
The 2026 fiscal year budget included a $16 million drop in property tax revenue from the year before.
However, operating costs continue to go up, Anglin said.
Aden Golden, a student government association senate chair from the South Campus, spoke to trustees during the public comment portion of the meeting, asking them to pause and consider other options.
The fee will most impact students who are already struggling, he said.
“Shifting the financial pressure onto students may balance the books, but it does so at the cost of access to equity,” he said. “Please don’t bounce this challenge on the backs of the people this institution exists to serve.”
Academic fees
A group of TCC officials including vice presidents, deans and student support and academic staff were tasked with making fee recommendations.
“We knew, because of the education in property tax revenue, we had to start looking for additional new revenue streams,” Anglin said.
The team examined fees at other colleges as well as policies and state law, according to the presentation.
Classes with a lab component will include a $24 flat-rate fee.
International students on an F-1 visa who apply to TCC will now be required to pay a $50 application fee.
“Last year, we had over 2,500 international students apply, and fewer than 400 actually enrolled,” Anglin said. “To process an application with an F-1 visa takes a significant amount of time and effort by our admissions staff.”
Private music lesson courses, which previously cost only the tuition rate, will carry an additional $100 fee per credit hour. Charging tuition alone left a large gap between the cost to offer the one-on-one lessons and the price students pay, Anglin said. A comparable fee is typically charged by other Texas community colleges for such lessons, she added.
An adult education course on basic arithmetic will carry a $53 fee that covers online learning materials. Health sciences capstone courses — the final classes in the degree sequences — will include a $50 fee.
Nursing courses will include additional fees ranging from $145 to $625. The fees were assigned so only one course a student takes per semester will carry a fee.
“That fee, it’ll actually provide for all the courses that they have that semester, but it’s tied to one each term,” Anglin said.
Some fees will increase on a gradual basis so students who enrolled in the program before the fees were instituted will pay less than future cohorts.
Financial aid and scholarships can be used to cover the fees.
In fiscal year 2025, Tarrant County College had the third-lowest tuition and fees for students residing in-district of Texas’ community colleges, Anglin noted in her presentation.
Nonacademic fees
The college is also raising some nonacademic fees.
“These are, in many cases, passing on the direct cost to the college to provide this,” Anglin said.
The cost of a first aid and CPR/AED certificate of completion from the American Red Cross is going from $40 to $42, reflecting an increase in the cost charged by the nonprofit emergency assistance organization.
To receive a transcript digitally, will cost $5, up from $2.10. Print and mail charges are going from $4.60 to $10. Transcript fees include the charges from the third-party company the college contracts with to send transcripts and a small amount covering administrative work done by the college, Anglin said.
TCC will now charge a payment plan late fee of $10. Replacing a parking permit will now cost $10, up from $5.
Police fees are also increasing. The fine for moving and parking violations is increasing by $5, with charges now ranging from $10 to $30. The fine for smoking on campus is increasing by $5, costing $10 for the first offense and $15 for any thereafter.
McKinnon Rice is the higher education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at mckinnon.rice@fortworthreport.org.
The Fort Worth Report partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage.
The Report’s higher education coverage is supported in part by major higher education institutions in Tarrant County, including Tarleton State University, Tarrant County College, Texas A&M-Fort Worth, Texas Christian University, Texas Wesleyan University, the University of Texas at Arlington and UNT Health Science Center. Atthe Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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