BY HANNAH NORTON & BROOKE SJOBERG
ACC approves free tuition pilot program Austin Community College will provide up to five years of free tuition for eligible students, after the community college’s board of trustees approved piloting the program in April. About the program The proposal, brought to the college system’s board of trustees by Chancellor Russell Lowery- Hart, will create a zero-cost tuition program for students who graduate from local high schools, charter schools, and those who have completed General Educational Development, or GED. Homeschooled students will also qualify. The details Eligible students could qualify for up to five years of free tuition to complete their associate degree. They have three years after high school graduation to access these funds.
66-plus UT staff laid off under DEI ban In April, at least 66 staff members who previously worked in diversity, equity and inclusion-related roles received termination notices from The University of Texas, UT engineering professor Brian Evans said. How we got here One week before the layoffs, state Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, sent a letter to several universities reminding them to comply with Senate Bill 17, a law banning DEI offices and initiatives at all public colleges and universities in Texas. Before the law took effect Jan. 1, UT overhauled programs that once provided DEI services. Officials also closed the Multi- cultural Engagement Center and shut down Monarch, a program that helped undocu- mented and mixed-status students.
ACC service area All high school students graduating this May who live within the community college’s service area could qualify for free tuition under the program.
Georgetown
281
Marble Falls
35
79
Taylor
71
95
Austin
290
21
Bastrop
San Marcos
10
San Antonio
N
SOURCE: AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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