Tuition slashed about 25 percent at LIT and other Lamar State colleges

7/18/2019

BEAUMONT – At a time when the cost of living is constantly rising, attending two-year college is now more affordable than ever at Lamar Institute of Technology and the two other state schools, thanks to an across-the-board, significant tuition decrease by The Texas State University System (TSUS) for the 2019-20 school year.

LIT President Dr. Lonnie L. Howard enthusiastically endorsed the move. He said the decrease only bolsters the affordability factor of pursuing “the American Dream, which is alive and well at the Institute for hundreds of students who might not have an opportunity financially to be able to attend college and ‘Get a Degree that Works,’” Howard said.

The Texas Legislature and the governor approved the increase in funding by $17.3 million. The TSUS opted to lower tuition and fees for the students, with the board of Board of Regents using 95 percent ($16.5 million) of those allocations for tuition cuts. The rest will be used for student support services.

The Board of Regents also reduced the fee for dual-credit courses from $75 - $110 per-semester credit hour, to $50 per-semester credit hour.

The tuition decrease was announced at a news conference on Wednesday at the Spindletop Museum. TSUS Chancellor Brian McCall, Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen and State Rep. Dade Phelan also spoke.

The infusion of money is intended to address the inequity in funding between the Lamar State colleges and Texas community colleges.

Unlike the community colleges, Lamar State colleges do not receive local tax revenue, requiring them to charge higher tuition to make up the difference. The now-reduced cost to students would put state colleges’ tuition and fees on a level playing field with community colleges.

In an explanation for the decrease, the State Board of Regents said, “These reductions in designated tuition and fee rates at the Lamar State colleges will increase access to higher education for the citizens and employers in this region, a region that is key to the economic prosperity of Texas.”