Dear Colleagues:
For the past four years, one of our most important goals has been finding new ways to open the doors of Texas State University to more Texans. Today, I am proud to share a major step forward in that work, and a significant investment in the future of our state.
Since 2009, our Bobcat Promise program has helped thousands of students from Texas families earning less than $50,000 pursue a TXST degree without the cost of tuition and mandatory fees. Beginning in Fall 2027, we will double the Bobcat Promise to eligible freshmen from Texas families earning up to $100,000 a year and who graduate in the top 25 percent of their high school class. Students from families earning $50,000 or less will continue to qualify regardless of class rank.
This is something many people across our university have worked toward for years, and I am grateful to everyone who helped make it possible.
At its heart, the Bobcat Promise has always been about expanding opportunity. It tells talented students across Texas: If you are willing to work hard and dream big, there is a place for you at TXST.
Almost half of our Bobcats graduate with zero student loan debt. For those graduates who do take out loans, their average debt is less than $20,000. Still, for too many families, the cost of college can make a university degree feel out of reach before a student ever applies. By doubling the Bobcat Promise income threshold, we are opening that door wider. We expect this expansion to increase the opportunity for a TXST degree for more than 3,000 incoming freshmen next fall.
And this commitment goes beyond one program. We have not raised tuition since Fall 2021 and have extended that freeze through 2027. We are building stronger partnerships with community colleges, expanding opportunities at our Round Rock Campus, and increasing online options — all to reduce the barriers of cost, time, and geography.
Your university was founded in 1899 to create opportunity for the people of Texas. That responsibility still drives us today. We want more Texans to earn a high-quality degree, build better lives for themselves and their families, and become the talented graduates our communities and our state need.
I am proud that we are making that promise even stronger.
Best,
Kelly Damphousse
President