For the second time during the pandemic, Houston's University of St. Thomas is offering free fall tuition for certain associates degrees.
The UST Associate of Applied Science programs eligible for free fall tuition are cybersecurity, network technology, electronic technology, general business, and alcohol and drug dependency counseling. The associate degree programs will be fully remote.
UST began offering free tuition to students in three associate degree pathways last fall, said Nicole McZeal Walters, dean of The Kolbe School of Innovation and Professional Studies at UST. The university was able to do so amid the economic hardships caused by the Covid-19 pandemic thanks to strong financial backing from alumni donors and enrollment in the UST's other academic programs, Walters said.
"We're living the mission of enabling people who may not have otherwise had an opportunity to come to UST. We give them an opportunity to be a UST student," Walters said.
The hope is that eventually, the students with free fall tuition will come back as tuition-paying students in future semesters. Approximately 170 students enrolled with free tuition in fall 2020, and around 80 of them returned as UST students in the spring, Walters said. This fall, UST is offering free tuition to the programs for the first 500 students to enroll.
Walters said UST looked to offer free tuition for degree pathways that were in high demand by employers. Cybersecurity was at the top of that list, she said. Network and electronic technology were chosen for students interested in STEM fields. The general business degree was chosen to support the many UST students who have entrepreneurial aspirations. Alcohol and drug dependency counseling was chosen because mental health and wellness became top-of-mind for many during the coronavirus pandemic, Walters said.
"We want people to either come into a professional-based program or a skills-based program, but the point is we want them to be able to support themselves — and eventually support our community," Walters said.
While these degrees with free fall tuition will operate online, UST plans to return to full in-person instruction this fall after using a hybrid model during the spring semester amid the pandemic. The university is also opening a new competitive gaming center for students and the UST esports teams later this summer.
