The University of Texas has joined a handful of other colleges around the country in offering in-state students, whose families make less than $65,000, free tuition.

CNN reports the university will make college more affordable for low-income students with a new designated fund. On Tuesday, the University of Texas System Board of Regents voted to use the state's Permanent University Fund to create a $160 million endowment for the fund. The decision was unanimous.

"Recognizing both the need for improved access to higher education and the high value of a UT Austin degree, we are dedicating a distribution from the Permanent University Fund to establish an endowment that will directly benefit students and make their degrees more affordable," Board of Regents Chairman Kevin Eltife said after the vote. "This will benefit students of our great state for years to come."

The new program is set to take effect in fall 2020. Reports are not clear if students entering the school this year will be eligible. Additionally, the news release did not state if graduate students would benefit from the program.

An estimated 8,600 in-state students, or about a quarter of the university's undergraduates, will be able to attend the school with their tuition costs covered.

According to USA Today, the program will also help another 5,700 in-state students from families with incomes of $125,000 or less. While they won't receive full scholarships, those students will receive increased financial aid. Funds from oil and gas royalties will go specifically to their financial aid.

The new scholarship program will only cover a student's tuition and fees, not their additional living expenses. With the topics of free college tuition and canceling student debt dominating the 2020 presidential election, the University of Texas' decision will send shockwaves around the country.

Several other colleges around the nation have already instituted similar programs.

The University of Michigan has a program that helps students from families making less than $65,000. Rice University will do the same for students from families making less than $130,000 annually. Both schools launched their programs in 2018.

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