Austin Community College approved a $583 million budget for the 2027 fiscal year at its July 6 Board of Trustees meeting to continue offering free tuition for qualifying students and maintain the same tuition rate as the past 13 years.

The ACC free tuition program applies to students who have graduated from a public or private high school, homeschool program or received a GED within the ACC service area. The program covers three consecutive years of tuition for an associate’s degree or five years of tuition to complete a bachelor’s degree. The program has no financial or GPA requirements and began with the graduating class of 2024, currently designed to last until the graduating class of 2028. 

At UT, for an in-state student, the rate per credit hour ranges from $452-$565, depending on a student’s major. UT students can take courses at ACC that apply toward core credits or specific degree requirements for their colleges. According to an April ACC press release, the fixed tuition rate is $67 for each credit hour for in-state, in-district students and $268 per credit hour for in-state, out-of-district students.

Carlos Martinez Jr., deputy chief financial officer at ACC, said the free tuition program relies on property taxes and enrollment growth revenue to fund the program. The institution uses a first-dollar model, meaning it covers the tuition and fees regardless of the amount of financial aid funds a student receives.

“The way we offer (financial aid) benefits a student at 100%. They can leave here without owing any money,” Martinez Jr. said. “Whereas other populations that do it last dollar, the student’s still going to have some kind of contribution.”

Many students looking to transfer to UT or another university have used the program to take core requirements before applying to transfer, like Jacqueline Matias, a second-year ACC student.

“I did lack a lot of confidence on my thoughts of applying to UT in general,” Matias said. “But I feel like ACC has been really helping me build that confidence, which I’m hoping next fall I will be accepted and I will go to Moody (College of Communication) for advertising.”

Matias said having free tuition has helped her focus less on any financial struggles and more on her goal of getting to UT. She said even though she may have to pay tuition later on at UT, it won’t be “as harsh” if she were starting from scratch.

“If this program wasn’t here, I don’t know if I even would have continued my college career,” Matias said.

Fritz Del Negro, a junior at ACC, also plans to transfer to UT in spring 2027.  He said he has been able to speak with many UT and ACC counselors regarding the transfer process and that it is a smooth transition process. 

“When anything is free, you’re more inclined to go and do it,” Del Negro said. “When you have a college degree, it’s helpful. So I think it’s an amazing program, and I think it helps a lot of people.”

Del Negro said ACC has allowed him to go to school without gaining any financial debt.

In 2023, Texas House Bill 8 revised “the funding system for public junior college districts,” which would include ACC. Martinez Jr. said the bill hasn’t directly affected the college yet, but ACC is continuing to find ways to reallocate funding that isn’t currently in use to keep the tuition program going.

“Our enrollment trends have started to increase since the free tuition program,” Martinez Jr. said. “We’ve seen an influx in our headcount of full-time students. Ultimately, with the state changing their model on how we get our funding, those enrollment numbers are going to benefit us also in the long run, giving us revenue coming in for these additional outcomes.”