Should UT Rio Grande Valley Offer Free Tuition for Certain Families?
The Texas Tribune reported on Wednesday that the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley will offer free tuition and fees for four years to students whose families make $100,000 or less per year. According to The Texas Tribune:
The tuition offer, which begins in the fall of 2022, is believed to be the largest free tuition program of its kind at a four-year university in the country. According to College Promise, a national organization that tracks these types of programs at two- and four-year schools, at least four other schools offer assistance to students whose family income is $100,000 or less, but not for all four years.
That is certainly a generous offer. Is it too generous?
The Texas Tribune reports UT Rio Grande Valley started their program at $75,000 in 2019. That seems generous too. Wouldn't $40K or $50K be enough? A $100,000 yearly income seems like enough money for a family to afford tuition for their child.
I also wonder why UT Dallas, UT Tyler, or even UT Permian Basin do not offer this program. Or maybe they will in the future? Should these universities be offering free tuition for families at or under a $100,000 yearly income threshold?
I almost think this should be applied to technical or vocational schools. Four-year universities have their place, but they make you take classes you won't likely use at a job like psychology, history, and science classes.
Would it be better to have free technical school tuition or perhaps tuition reimbursements for technical/vocational schools? These are schools that teach you a trade you can use for the rest of your life.
There is a need for skilled workers nowadays in jobs like construction, manufacturing, electricians, HVAC, mechanics, and robotics just to name a few. A technical school can give you an education in these fields in only two years as opposed to a four-year university that will make you take classes you don't need.
So, what do you think? Should four-year schools like UT Rio Grande Valley offer free tuition to certain families or would having technical schools offer free tuition or tuition reimbursements be a better idea? Let us know on Facebook or on our station app.