Expanded partnership will provide eligible students automatic admission and tuition-free education
ACCD News Release — The Alamo Colleges District (ACD) and Texas A&M University-San Antonio (TAMU-SA) today announced an expanded transfer agreement that will allow eligible students to start at any of the five Alamo Colleges and seamlessly transfer to TAMU-SA to complete a four-year degree while having educational costs covered at both institutions. The Promise-to-Promise partnership will also allow for automatic admission from ACD to TAMU-SA.
AlamoPROMISE is a program that provides tuition-free college education at one of the five Alamo Colleges to 20 school districts and partners, including 73 San Antonio-area high schools and programs, as well as private, charter, and home schools in Bexar County. TAMU-SA’s Jaguar Promise program is a transformational initiative that provides free tuition, fees, and a $300 book stipend per semester for eligible first-year and transfer students.
“The Promise-to-Promise partnership between ACD and TAMU-SA is a testament to our shared commitment to making higher education accessible for all students,” said Dr. Mike Flores, Alamo Colleges District Chancellor. “By providing more seamless transfer pathways and covering educational costs at both institutions, we are removing financial barriers and opening doors for our students to achieve their academic and career goals.”
The expanded transfer agreement between ACD and TAMU-SA builds upon an agreement signed in Fall 2019 that established a formal transfer partnership between the two institutions. The Promise-to-Promise partnership is just one component of a strategy developed by ACD and TAMU-SA to provide students with a more seamless transfer pathway between the two institutions.
Other seamless transfer tracks include:
- Jag Path Program: For first-year students applying to TAMU-SA who may not qualify for direct admission. Students who accept the Jag Path Program offer are dually accepted to ACD for the fall term without completing an application to ACD.
- Jag Bound for ACD students: ACD students who apply during the fall or spring term, have yet to attend another college/university, express their intention to transfer to TAMU-SA by the end of their first term at ACD, and enroll in 60 semester credit hours.
- Seamless Three Tier Transfer Program: For high school students from identified ISDs who complete dual enrollment with ACD, earn an Associate of Arts in Teaching or an Associate of Arts/Associate of Science, and are admitted to TAMU-SA to finish their Bachelor’s Degree in Education, Child Development, or another agreed-upon track.
Alamo Colleges transfer student Aubri Lalinde will be among the first eligible students admitted to TAMU-SA under the newest Promise-to-Promise program. She is a first-generation college student who recently graduated from Palo Alto College with an Associate of Arts in Business Administration.
Lalinde said she was thrilled when she learned about Promise-to-Promise, as a way to further her education and help her and her son form a better future.
“Texas A&M University-San Antonio and our great partners in the Alamo Colleges share a mission of service to students and to our community. The Promise-to-Promise partnership is a product of our mutual commitment to opening as many pathways and points of entry for students as possible to put their academic goals within reach,” said Texas A&M University-San Antonio President Salvador Hector Ochoa. “A&M-San Antonio is a place where access meets opportunity and with the Promise-to-Promise, we’re removing financial and procedural barriers to access so that these students, who come to us so well prepared by our colleagues in the Alamo Colleges, can pursue the educational opportunities that a four-year university has to offer them.”
About 75% of Alamo Colleges students transfer to four-year universities to complete their degrees. During academic year 2023, 2,007 students transferred from the Alamo Colleges and enrolled at TAMUSA. Over the past five years, approximately 83% of the students who transferred to TAMU-SA were affiliated with Alamo Colleges.
The new Promise-to-Promise partnership strengthens the collaborative student support system across the partnering institutions. It will ultimately help thousands of students save money and reduce the time it takes to complete a bachelor’s degree. This partnership is the second such expanded partnership for the Alamo Colleges. In 2022, ACD established a similar partnership with the University of Texas at San Antonio’s Bold Promise Program. For more information, visit alamo.edu/tamusa.
