Alamo Colleges District Waives Summer Tuition and Some Outstanding Student Balances

Alamo Colleges District is responding to the pandemic by waiving summer tuition for all currently enrolled students, so long as they have a 2.0 GPA.

Thanks to Alamo Colleges' Keep Learning Plan, students who took classes in this spring can earn up to nine free credit hours while part-time students can earn up to six.

The plan also eliminates outstanding balances of up to $500 for the fall and spring semesters, and reduces the fee to set up tuition payment plans so students won't have to worry about finances during the pandemic. The state-mandated college readiness test, the Texas Success Initiative, will also be free from May 1 through June 20.

The summer tuition program will be applied before all other financial aid, with the intent that students use existing loans, grants and scholarships for living expenses.

"It can go towards their rent, their mortgage, their car payment, food. It can go towards clothing for their kids, all those things that are so critical to our students," Alamo Colleges Chancellor Mike Flores told TPR. He said the goal of the plan is to eliminate as many barriers as possible for students to stay in school during the pandemic.

With the coronavirus creating an unpredictable economy, Flores said finishing a degree is more important than ever.

"I want them to cross the finish line," Flores told TPR. "I really want to ensure ... that they complete the spring semester, they continue to the summer and that they can get that credential that's so important for them being part of the American middle class."

Alamo Colleges is anticipating that more than 15,000 students will take advantage of this new program.

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