Locked & Variable Rate Plans

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Tuition Rate Opt-in Choices

Incoming Freshman

All incoming freshmen will have a choice of opting for one of the following two tuition rate codes:

The Four-Year Locked Rate* is a compounded four-year average, allowing for a per semester fixed rate of required tuition and fees for twelve consecutive full semesters, or four consecutive years, from the time of first enrollment in an institution of higher education after high school.
The Variable Rate is set annually using factors such as inflationary cost increases, new strategic initiatives, and the overall needs of the university.

Transfers & Re-Admit Students

All transfers and re-admit students will have a choice of opting into:

The Current Academic Year's Locked Rate* which, much like the locked rate plan offered to incoming freshmen, is a compounded four-year average allowing for a per semester fixed rate of required tuition and fees for twelve consecutive full semesters or four consecutive years, from the time of first enrollment in an institution of higher education after high school.
The First Term of Enrollment Locked Rate corresponds with the calculated remaining years since their first enrolled term after high school (possibly less per hour, but shorter duration before expiration). The students, in this case, would have to make sure that the year they are expected to graduate doesn't go past the fourth and final year this locked rate is scheduled to expire.
The Variable Rate is set annually using factors such as inflationary cost increases, new strategic initiatives, and the overall needs of the university.

*Locked rates are guaranteed for a period of time based on college and/or major:

All majors in the College of Engineering: 4.5 years from the time freshmen first enter college after high school; Landscape Architecture: 5 years from the time freshmen first enter college after high school; All Other Majors: 4 years from the time freshmen first enter college after high school

Once you have completed the length of time in your locked rate cohort, you will automatically be moved to the current year's Variable Rate Cohort.

Non-Resident Students: Because the State of Texas does not fund "non-resident" tuition, mandates issued by the state for the fixed-rate tuition plan do not apply to non-resident students. Therefore, non-resident students will default to the variable-rate plan.

HSC: Health Science Center (HSC) programs are upper-division programs with separate budgeted rates of two-year time frames. Upon transfer/entrance to an HSC major, you will be reassigned to their current-year locked-rate cohort for two years, or your remaining time left if you are originally in a main-campus locked-rate cohort.

Locked Rate and Variable Rate FAQs

Rate Code Info

Example Cost by Rate Code

Example costs per semester of 2018-2019 tuition and fees for a student in the College of Liberal Arts paying in-state tuition and registered for 12 or more hours:

First Entered College	Tuition Rate Code	Locked or Variable	Potentially Expires
2018-2019	TLR_1819	Tuition Locked Rate	Summer 2022
2019-2020	TLR_1920	Tuition Locked Rate	Summer 2023
2020-2021	TLR_2021	Tuition Locked Rate	Summer 2024
2021-2022	TLR_2122	Tuition Locked Rate	Summer 2025
2022-2023	TLR_2223	Tuition Locked Rate	Summer 2026
2022-2023	TVR_VARI	Tuition Variable Rate	Rate is for the 2022-2023 academic year only

Example Tuition Rate Codes

Tuition Rate Code Explanations

The first three characters indicate whether the tuition rate code is locked or variable.
TLR stands for Tuition Locked Rate.
TVR stands for Tuition Variable Rate.
The last four characters of the Locked Rate tuition codes indicate the year the student first entered an institution of higher education after high school.

Example Tuition Rate Codes

First Entered College	Tuition Rate Code	Locked or Variable	Potentially Expires
2018-2019	TLR_1819	Tuition Locked Rate	Summer 2022
2019-2020	TLR_1920	Tuition Locked Rate	Summer 2023
2020-2021	TLR_2021	Tuition Locked Rate	Summer 2024
2021-2022	TLR_2122	Tuition Locked Rate	Summer 2025
2022-2023	TLR_2223	Tuition Locked Rate	Summer 2026
2022-2023	TVR_VARI	Tuition Variable Rate	Rate is for the 2022-2023 academic year only

Changes to Your Rate Code

Incoming Undergraduate Students

Incoming freshmen and transfer/re-admit students may change their selection up until the 5th class day of their first term of enrollment. Go to My Dashboard in Howdy, select Overview, then the My Record tab. Then under Academics, select Registration Readiness. This will lead to a page where you choose Action Items and Tuition Rate Code Selection. That is where the new student can make the change.

Continuing Undergraduate Students

Tuition rate codes cannot be changed after the 5th class day of a student's first term of enrollment.

Howdy Portal

All incoming undergraduate resident students will have to select a tuition rate code in the Howdy Portal before being allowed to register for classes for the first time.

Select Your Rate Code