AUSTIN— Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation published the policy perspective Expanding the College Pricing Revolution: 2019 Update on the Texas Affordable Baccalaureate Program.

“In the seven years following then-Gov. Rick Perry’s State of the State Address in which he called for the creation of affordable bachelor’s degree programs, Texas’ public universities have risen to the challenge,” said Tom Lindsay, Ph.D., director of the Center for Innovation in Education at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. “To make college more affordable for more Texans, each public university should have at least one bachelor’s degree under the Affordable Baccalaureate Program.”

Key Points:

  • In February 2011, during his State of the State Address, then-Gov. Rick Perry called on Texas’ public four-year universities to craft affordable bachelor’s degrees, what the governor called, “$10,000 degrees.”
  • The first Texas Affordable Baccalaureate Degree was launched by Texas A&M-Commerce and South Texas College. The new program commenced with seven students and grew to over 300 students and 121 program graduates by 2016.
  • Fundraising for the expansion of the affordable baccalaureate was supported by the College for All Texans Foundation. The grants were secured from AT&T Aspire, the Greater Texas Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, and the Meadows Foundation.
  • To make college more affordable for more Texans, each public university should have at least one bachelor’s degree under the Affordable Baccalaureate Program.

To read the perspective in full, please visit:

https://www.texaspolicy.com/expanding-the-college-pricing-revolution/