The world is getting more competitive every day. For your child to be successful, post-secondary education is critical, whether your Beneficiary attends a two-year or four-year college or university. A typical bachelor’s degree recipient can expect to earn about 66% more during a 40-year working life than the typical high school graduate earns over the same period.footnote Customizing your plan to fit your situation takes a clear understanding of your educational objectives and budget.
Understand the Three Plan Types
Tuition Challenges, Tuition Solutions
Meeting the tuition challenge may be easier than you think. You can save on future tuition and required fee costs at most Texas public colleges and universities by opening a Texas Tuition Promise Fund account at today’s prices.
Your account lets you lock in a child’s Texas public two-or four-year accredited college tuition and required fees at today’s prices. You can use your Texas Tuition Promise Fund account for any Texas public two-or four-year accredited college or university, excluding medical and dental institutions.”
Scenario 1: Any Texas Public College, Regardless of Price
Tuition Challenge “We want our child to have all of the educational advantages we had – and then some.”
Tuition Solution
Type I Units:
The assigned value of a Type I Tuition Unit is 1% of the cost of the undergraduate resident tuition and required fees for the applicable academic year consisting of 30 semester credit hours with an assumed 15 hours per semester charged by the Texas public four-year college or university with the highest such tuition and required fee costs for that academic year. All other public colleges in Texas will require less than 100 Type I Units for an academic year consisting of 30 semester hours.
All types of Tuition Units can be used at any Texas public college or university or converted to the Transfer Value for use at Texas private or out-of-state colleges or universities or eligible career schools. Transfer Value (Transfer Outside of Plan) is limited to the lesser of (1) the costs the Tuition Unit would cover at a public in-state college or university or (2) the original purchase price of the Tuition Unit plus or minus the Plan’s net investment earnings or losses on that amount. See the Tuition Unit Pricing Schedule and Unit Value Redemption Guide to determine the number of Tuition Units required for redemption at four-year and two-year Texas public colleges or universities in the current year.
can be used to pay for undergraduate resident tuition and
Required Fees:
Required fees are only those that must be paid by all students as a condition of enrollment in the college or university. They do not include course-specific fees such as equipment usage or lab fees, or fees related to your major or year of study.
at the most expensive four-year Texas public college or university. All other public colleges in Texas will require less than 100 Type I Units for an academic year consisting of 30 hours. Build Your Plan
Scenario 2: Average Prices, but a Great Education
Tuition Challenge “I graduated from a great little Texas state college and still go back to visit whenever I can. If one of my children wants to go to the same school, well, so be it. I want to help make that happen.”
Tuition Solution
Should your budget not allow for Type I Units, you may want to consider the less expensive
Type II Units:
The assigned value of a Type II Tuition Unit is 1% of the Weighted Average cost of undergraduate resident tuition and required fees for the applicable academic year consisting of 30 semester credit hours with an assumed 15 hours per semester charged by General academic teaching institutions (four-year public colleges) in Texas. Type II Tuition Units cover the same four-year Texas public colleges as Type I Tuition Units, but only pay the Weighted Average Cost of undergraduate resident tuition and required fees at Texas public four-year colleges and universities. Any difference not covered by redemption of Tuition Units must be paid by the Beneficiary or the Purchaser either through the redemption of additional Tuition Units or through alternative funding methods. The percentage of tuition and required fees covered will vary depending on the college or university your Beneficiary attends and the extent to which its costs are above or below the Weighted Average cost at Texas public four-year colleges and universities.
All types of Tuition Units can be used at any Texas public college or university or converted to the Transfer Value for use at Texas private colleges and universities or out-of-state colleges or universities or eligible career schools. Transfer Value (Transfer Outside of Plan) is limited to the lesser of (1) the costs the Tuition Unit would cover at a public in-state college or university or (2) the original purchase price of the Tuition Unit plus or minus the Plan’s net investment earnings or losses on that amount. See the Tuition Unit Pricing Schedule and Unit Value Redemption Guide to determine the number of Tuition Units required for redemption at four-year and two-year Texas public colleges or universities in the current year.
. These units can be redeemed to pay the
Weighted Average Cost:
"Weighted Average" is calculated according to a formula established by Texas law. The Plan will calculate two Weighted Averages: (1) A Weighted Average cost of undergraduate resident tuition and required fees for four-year public senior colleges or universities in Texas, and (2) a Weighted Average cost of undergraduate resident tuition and required fees at two-year public institutions of higher education in Texas (public junior colleges, public state colleges, and public technical institutes) paid by residents of the taxing jurisdiction of the two-year public institution. Weighted Averages are essentially the average cost of undergraduate resident tuition and required fees at these public colleges and universities in Texas (institutions) and are calculated by 1) multiplying the average amount of the institution’s undergraduate resident tuition and required fees for an academic year consisting of 30 semester credit hours by the number of full-time equivalent undergraduate resident students at the institution; 2) adding together the products computed in 1) for each institution; and 3) dividing the sum determined in 2) by the total number of full-time equivalent undergraduate resident students at all institutions.
of undergraduate tuition and
Required Fees:
Required fees are only those that must be paid by all students as a condition of enrollment in the college or university. They do not include course-specific fees such as equipment usage or lab fees, or fees related to your major or year of study.
charged to full-time in-state students at four-year public colleges and universities in Texas. Build Your Plan
Scenario 3: Technical or Two-year College
Tuition Challenge “My child is thinking about getting a technical degree at a nearby community college. I’d like to find a way to put something toward tuition.”
Tuition Solution
Type III Units:
The assigned value of a Type III Tuition Unit is 1% of the Weighted Average cost of undergraduate resident tuition and required fees for the applicable academic year consisting of 30 semester credit hours with an assumed 15 hours per semester charged by two-year institutions of higher education for residents of the taxing jurisdiction of the two-year college (two-year public junior college/public technical institute) in Texas, disregarding any portion of the tuition charged by a public junior college to a resident of this state who does not reside within the taxing jurisdiction of the junior college. The number of hours paid will vary depending on the college your Beneficiary attends and the extent to which its costs are above or below the Weighted Average cost at Texas public two-year colleges.
All types of Tuition Units can be used at any Texas public college or university or converted to the Transfer Value for use at Texas private colleges and universities or out-of-state colleges or universities or eligible career schools. Transfer Value (Transfer Outside of Plan) is limited to the lesser of (1) the costs the Tuition Unit would cover at a public in-state college or university or (2) the original purchase price of the Tuition Unit plus or minus the Plan’s net investment earnings or losses on that amount. See the Tuition Unit Pricing Schedule and Unit Value Redemption Guide to determine the number of Tuition Units required for redemption at four-year and two-year Texas public colleges or universities in the current year.
are priced lower than Type I and Type II. These units can be redeemed to pay the
Weighted Average Cost:
"Weighted Average" is calculated according to a formula established by Texas law. The Plan will calculate two Weighted Averages: (1) A Weighted Average cost of undergraduate resident tuition and required fees for four-year public senior colleges or universities in Texas, and (2) a Weighted Average cost of undergraduate resident tuition and required fees at two-year public institutions of higher education in Texas (public junior colleges, public state colleges, and public technical institutes) paid by residents of the taxing jurisdiction of the two-year public institution. Weighted Averages are essentially the average cost of undergraduate resident tuition and required fees at these public colleges and universities in Texas (institutions) and are calculated by 1) multiplying the average amount of the institution’s undergraduate resident tuition and required fees for an academic year consisting of 30 semester credit hours by the number of full-time equivalent undergraduate resident students at the institution; 2) adding together the products computed in 1) for each institution; and 3) dividing the sum determined in 2) by the total number of full-time equivalent undergraduate resident students at all institutions.
of in-district undergraduate resident tuition and
Required Fees:
Required fees are only those that must be paid by all students as a condition of enrollment in the college or university. They do not include course-specific fees such as equipment usage or lab fees, or fees related to your major or year of study.
of two-year institutions, including Texas junior colleges and public technical institutes. Build Your Plan
You can also consider a combination of unit types. Perhaps, purchasing Type III Units for the first two years at a junior college and then purchasing Type I or II Units for the last two years at a four-year Texas public college or university.
While all three types of Units can be used at any Texas public two-year or four-year college or university, the number of Units required will vary depending on the school attended. See the Pricing Schedule and Redemption Guide for more information.