Thread by @TexasTribune

1/ New: @UTAustin will fully cover the tuition and fees of students whose families earn below $65,000 in adjusted gross income a year starting in 2020. bit.ly/2xDckNM

2/ The UT System has access to a more than $20 billion pot of money that’s historically rarely been used to help undergraduate students afford college.

But today, regents approved a special $160 million payout to expand the aid it offers. bit.ly/2LGEEai

3/ The UT System has faced criticism in the past for not using that oil money to offset tuition costs. bit.ly/2LGEEai

4/ In 2017, we did a dive into how the System was using this money. Some of it was used for --
+ $215 million for land in Houston
+ $100 million for an in-house educational technology startup that was later shut down
+ $141 million for a downtown office. bit.ly/2xAvTXg

5/ What about financial aid? That year, $3 million in financial aid from that pot of money went to undergraduate students at UT-Austin. bit.ly/2xAvTXg

6/ But with this new money, school officials expect the funding will fully cover the tuition and fees of undergraduate students whose families earn up to $65,000 in adjusted gross income a year. bit.ly/2LGEEai

7/7 The funding marks a significant expansion for UT-Austin, which currently has a financial aid initiative that guarantees free tuition to students whose families earn up to $30,000 a year. bit.ly/2LGEEai