Release Courtesy: Tarrant County College
Tarrant County College is excited to announce that the College is waiving tuition for all dual credit students, following a unanimous vote by its Board of Trustees (Read the full press release). This waiver will apply to all dual credit/enrollment students including early college high school students beginning this Fall 2023 semester. Dual credit students are eligible for this tuition waiver regardless of county of residence, semester of enrollment, or modality of their dual credit courses.
The passing of Texas House Bill 8 made way for the implementation of the new Financial Aid for Swift Transfer (FAST) program. This program provides funding to participating public institutions of higher education to allow them to offer dual credit courses to educationally disadvantaged students at no cost to these students. Students are “eligible students” under the FAST program if they (1) are enrolled in an eligible dual credit course at a public school district and (2) were qualified for free/reduced-price lunch in any of the four school years prior to enrolling in the dual credit course. Tarrant County College is excited to extend the dual credit tuition waiver beyond the FAST eligibility requirements to include all dual credit students.
Additionally, according to FAST requirements, eligible students may not be charged any fees or costs associated with textbooks or other educational materials. Fortunately, many of our K12 partners currently sponsor the cost of textbooks and course materials for their dual credit students allowing them to receive these items at no cost. However, for those students attending an ISD that do not currently sponsor this cost and who are responsible for the cost of their own textbooks and course materials, TCC will ensure students eligible for the FAST program will not pay for any course materials or fees.
Students who are not currently provided textbooks and course materials from their high school should proceed with obtaining these items as they've done in the past. TCC is currently developing a process to reimburse "eligible students" under the FAST program for the cost of these items, if not provided by their high school. We will provide more details about this reimbursement process as its development is finalized.
For any questions regarding the dual credit tuition waiver or the FAST program, please feel free to review the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on our website or contact the TCC Educational Partnerships team with whom you partner.
Thank you for your continued partnership and support. This is a wonderful opportunity for our state, community, and students. We look forward to building a stronger pipeline for our students to programs that result in a livable-wage career.