SAN ANTONIO – The University of Texas at San Antonio and the San Antonio Independent School District are joining forces to create a new way for high school students to attend the city’s largest public institution.
The partnership, announced Tuesday, will allow some SAISD high school juniors to earn direct admission to UTSA before they reach their senior year of high school.
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According to the university, the program is available to SAISD students who are in the top 25% of their graduating class through the end of the fall semester of their junior year. To get the program off the ground, the school said it reached out to over 700 eligible SAISD juniors. As of Tuesday, 282 of those juniors have completed or will complete their UTSA application, the university said.
“UTSA is deeply committed to growing the workforce and positively impacting the economic development of San Antonio by preparing students to succeed in the jobs of the future,” UTSA president Taylor Eighmy said. “We have enjoyed a strong partnership with SAISD for many years, but this new program is especially exemplary of UTSA’s keen focus on student success and its desire to make higher education more accessible, especially for those from underserved communities.”
Students accepted into the program will be able to start attending UTSA this fall.
“We are committed to providing transformational learning experiences for our students, and this partnership with UTSA will help our students more easily access the life-changing tool of postsecondary education,” SAISD superintendent Jaime Aquino said. “We are proud of this partnership that offers our students exceptional support as they enroll and persist in their studies at UTSA.”
The new program is a continuation of the university’s recent efforts to expand admission possibilities for prospective students. Beginning in Fall 2020, UTSA’s Bold Promise initiative allowed for incoming freshmen from middle and low-income families to have their tuition and fees covered over eight semesters, or four years. An expansion of the Bold Promise program called Promise Plus launched in 2022.
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