A-4. TUITION RATES

Value Statements

  The Board of Trustees values ACC’s role as the first point of access to higher education for many students.

  Consequently, the Board is committed to ACC’s tuition being the lowest among other local higher education institutions.

  Tuition is intended to cover operational costs of the district which are not subsidized by State appropriations and local taxes.

  While tuition, like other operating costs will rise over time, ACC shall strive to make for minimal increases only when necessary to support the District operations, to announce increases prior to the beginning of new academic years, and to remain the lowest-cost local provider of higher education.

[1] The tuition rates for in-district college-credit students shall be set by the Board. Except when the Board explicitly directs otherwise, tuition rates for other students shall be set by the President in accordance with this policy. To the extent feasible, general charges shall be assessed as tuition.

[2] To maintain a tuition differential that is fair both to ACC taxpayers and to Texas-resident ACC students who live outside the taxing district, the credit-hour differential for such students shall reflect the local tax effort in support of in-district students, adjusted to partially reflect the estimated marginal cost of serving all students in order to balance taxpayer fairness with accessibility for out-of-district students. It shall thus be, to the nearest dollar, 80% of the ratio of annual property-tax revenues to annual in-district credit hours, except that any year-to-year increase in the differential shall be no more than 8% of out-of-district tuitionWhile financial circumstances may necessitate consideration of tuition increases, the College will assist students in anticipating increases by generally approving them only once per year as part of development/approval of the next year’s annual operating budget. The President is authorized and encouraged to use any available method to lessen the impact of this tuition differential on economically-disadvantaged students.

      [3] The further per-credit-hour differential in tuition rates for students who do not qualify as Texas residents shall be no less than the ratio of all revenues from state government to total credit hours by in-state students.

      [4] The President may adopt rules waiving all or part of the tuition and/or other charges for senior citizens or students enrolled under a joint-credit agreement with a school district, with an annual report to the Board on the nature and extent of such waivers.

      [5] The President shall set charges for non-credit and continuing-education classes that at least cover operational, indirect, and overhead costs, except where specific programs have been exempted from these criteria by Board approval.


The Austin Community College Board of Trustees adopted this policy on April 23, 1996 and amended it on September 9, 1996, October 6, 1997, April 6, 1998, September 14, 1998, May 1, 2000, October 2, 2000, August 5, 2002, May 2, 2005, and June 6, 2006.

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