Lamar State Colleges Tuition Cut

The state budget approved in 2019 provides an additional $17.3 million to “buy down” tuition and fees at the Lamar State Colleges. The Board used this new money to reduce tuition and fees by an average of 25 percent, to $1,995 per semester.

Unlike Texas community colleges, the Lamar State Colleges do not receive local tax revenue, requiring them to charge higher tuition and fees to make up the difference. Average tuition at a Texas community college are approximately $1,000 per semester for a full-time, in-district student. By comparison, the average tuition and fees at a Lamar State College before the tuition cut were approximately $2,800.

The Board of Regents dedicated 95 percent of the new state funding ($16.5 million) to reduce tuition and fees. The colleges are using the remaining five percent for student support services.

The reduced tuition took effect in Fall 2019, and continues through the 2020-21 academic year.

Indefinitely, as long as the legislature maintains its support.

This significant tuition cut allows students to take more courses and reduce their time to degree, work fewer hours while they’re going to school, and graduate with less student debt or no debt.

Reducing the cost of attendance helps the Lamar State Colleges attract more students. This will likely result in higher levels of funding in the future because state funding for colleges and universities is partly based on enrollment.

Some research suggests tuition cuts at two-year colleges do not negatively impact enrollment at nearby four-year universities. In fact, Lamar University could benefit in the future as more students enroll at the two-year colleges and later decide to pursue four-year degrees at Lamar University.