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Advocate editorial board opinion: New program helps low-income students achieve their dreams

  • By the Advocate Editorial Board
  • Originally published March 21, 2012 at 5:33 p.m., updated March 21, 2012 at 11:10 p.m.

We were intrigued when we heard about the University of Houston-Victoria's new tuition program called the UHV Guarantee.

The program offers up to free tuition and fees to new Texas freshmen and sophomores from outside the Victoria area in an attempt to increase UHV enrollment, creating a more affordable option for students to achieve higher education.

UHV President Phil Castille addressed the aim of this program in a news release.

"Although UHV is one of the most affordable universities in Texas, we realized that it isn't enough for some students who dream of achieving a higher education but whose families can't afford the cost. The UHV Guarantee is our guarantee to low-income families from outside the Victoria area that we are committed to their children having access to a quality higher education."

The Guarantee is based on tiers of students' family income.

A student whose family earns $50,000 or less would receive free tuition and fees. A student whose family earns up to $90,000 a year would receive 50 percent free tuition and fees. Students with families who earn more than $90,000 a year can receive a scholarship of up to $1,000.

The students must be from outside the area specified in UHV's Memorandum of Understanding with Victoria College, which includes Victoria, Calhoun, DeWitt and Lavaca counties, as well as portions of Gonzales, Jackson and Refugio counties.

We agree that while UHV is one of the more affordable options for higher education in Texas - with a current in-state tuition of only $2,363 for a 12-hour semester - it may still be out of reach for some who aspire to earn a degree and work toward a brighter future.

We also think this is another step toward making UHV a destination university and growing enrollment, and we look forward to seeing the fruits of this endeavor in future years.

This editorial reflects the views of the Victoria Advocate's editorial board.