FAST Frequently Asked Questions

An overview of the Financial Aid for Swift Transfer (FAST) program is provided on a dedicated webpage which includes detailed information on eligibility and funding requirements for participating public institutions of higher education.

Posted 08/11/2023

No. Only students eligible for FAST must be able to take the course at no charge, including tuition, books, fees, and other educational materials. All other dual credit students attending high school in a school district or charter school in Texas can be charged tuition and other course costs as long as the tuition amount does not exceed the maximum rate specified through rule by Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

Posted 08/11/2023

No. There are no limits to the number of courses or semester credit hours in this program. Students who meet all FAST eligibility requirements can enroll for eligible dual credit courses at no cost to the student at participating institutions, and the funds will be paid to the institution at the confirmed tuition rate established for the academic year.

Posted 08/11/2023

If the institution or school has clearly documented with the student that the materials are provided at no cost with a requirement that they be returned, then any charge to the student related to not returning the materials would not be considered a mandatory course-related expense. As such, the charge would not fall within the requirement that a participating institution must ensure that an eligible student incurs no cost for their enrollment in any dual credit course at the institution.

Revised 01/03/2024

Any “institution of higher education,” as defined in Texas Education Code, Section 61.003(8), is eligible to participate in the FAST Program.

Posted 08/11/2023

No. Students must be enrolled in high school in a school district or charter school in Texas.

Posted 08/11/2023

Yes. Only dual credit students enrolled in high school in a school district or charter school in Texas are subject to the FAST tuition rate that is set by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. The institution can charge tuition and other course charges, such as fees, books, or supplies for dual credit courses taken by students attending private high schools or who are home schooled and is not obligated to use the FAST tuition rate maximum for these students.

Posted 08/11/2023

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) combines the institution’s CBM0CS data with the Texas Education Agency’s data regarding educationally disadvantaged students to generate a report each semester of enrolled students who are eligible for FAST funding. The THECB will provide the report to institutions for their review and certification. Once the institution completes the certification, the THECB will disburse funding to the institution shortly after each semester ends.

Posted 08/11/2023

No. Institutions participating in the FAST Program may not charge a school district or charter school for tuition for dual credit coursework.

Posted 08/11/2023

Yes. Participating institutions are not prevented from entering into contracts for other course charges, such as fees, books, supplies, or professional development, to be paid for by school districts or charter schools.

Posted 08/11/2023

No. Based on Texas Administrative Code, Section 13.503(b), “A school district’s or charter school’s notice to the institution regarding a student’s status as educationally disadvantaged shall occur through the school district’s or charter school’s notice to the Texas Education Agency, unless otherwise provided by rule.” Therefore, participating institutions are required to use data provided to the THECB by TEA to confirm eligible students for the FAST program versus directly with the high school.

Revised 09/08/2023

Yes. If the student can earn credit toward obtaining an industry-recognized credential, a continuing education course may be eligible, if all other program requirements are met.

Posted 08/15/2023

A participating institution is required to upload a file of registered dual credit students through MOVEit DMZ to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and must include the student’s valid TEA-issued Texas Student Data System (TSDS) Unique ID or a valid Social Security number (SSN) to reliably match the information. Students included in this roster must be registered for or enrolled in a course offered through an institutional agreement, as outlined in Texas Administrative Code (TAC), Title 19, Section 4.84. The student must be also enrolled in eligible academic, career and technical education (CTE), or continuing education courses as defined in TAC, Title 19, Section 13.501. The institution’s data will be compared to TEA’s data to determine if a student was reported as “educationally disadvantaged” in any of the four school years prior to the academic year in which the student is enrolled in the eligible dual credit course. The THECB will provide an updated file to the institution through MOVEit including a “educational disadvantaged indicator” to confirm a student’s eligibility under Texas Administrative Code, Section 13.503.

Revised 09/05/2023

A student’s NSLP status is reported to Texas Education Agency (TEA) by a Texas public school or open-enrollment charter during the PEIMS reporting process using specific codes. If a student was reported to TEA and coded ‘01,’ ‘02,’ or ‘99’ (Economic-Disadvantage-Code, C054, found in the PEIMS Data Reporting Standards) in any of the four school years prior to the academic year in which the student is enrolled in the dual credit course, the student is eligible for FAST, if all other program requirements are met.

The institution submits a roster of students registered for current dual credit courses using their TEA-issued Texas Student Data System (TSDS) Unique ID to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board which is compared to the TEA data to identify if a student is flagged with one of the eligible codes in any of the prior four years. The results are provided back to the institution to confirm if all other program eligibility criteria are met.

Revised 1/22/2024

No. The student must have participated in a National School Lunch Program to be eligible.

Posted 08/24/2023

Yes. The institution may charge different tuition rates for in-district and out-of-district students. However, neither the in-district nor the out-of-district tuition rate may exceed the maximum tuition rate established in Texas Administrative Code, Section 13.504.

Posted 08/24/2023

The statute creating the FAST program and the emergency rules for the FAST program do not limit FAST funding based on a student having previously failed a course.

Posted 08/25/2023

The statute creating the FAST program and the emergency rules for the FAST program do not limit FAST funding based on a student having previously failed a course.

Posted 08/25/2023

An institution must comply with Texas Administrative Code, Section 13.502(c), which states, “a participating institution must ensure that an eligible student incurs no cost for their enrollment in any dual credit course at the institution. This includes, but is not limited to, tuition, fees, books, supplies, or other course-related expenses.” Institutions should confer with their legal counsel on how the institution will meet this requirement.

Posted 08/25/2023

Prior to the upcoming award year, the THECB notifies eligible public institutions of higher education (IHE) to provide instructions on how to opt-in to participate the FAST program. In addition, the IHE must complete a program participation agreement (PPA).

A current FAST Participation Listing for FY 2024 is available. Please note that institutions can opt-in for the spring 2024 semester until March 15, 2024, at which point this list will be updated. A list of FY 2025 will also be posted, once available.

Revised 02/29/2024

Yes. Since the educationally disadvantaged indicator is based on a four-year lookback, an institution will need to verify a student’s status as educationally disadvantaged every year but will not have to verify this each semester.

Posted 08/25/2023

As per Texas Administrative Code, Section 13.503, in order for a student to be eligible for the FAST program, the student must:

• be educationally disadvantaged in any of the four school years prior to enrollment in the dual credit course for the current academic year;
• be enrolled in and eligible for Foundation School Program funding at a high school in a Texas school district or charter school under the rules of the Texas Education Agency;
• be enrolled in a dual credit course at a participating institution of higher education.

Posted 08/25/2023

During the first year of the FAST program, the goal is to provide a response within a few business days of receiving the institution’s roster. Future years will be adjusted, as needed.

Posted 08/25/2023

The FAST tuition rate is determined by the Commissioner annually by January 31 prior to the start of each fiscal year. Visit the dedicated webpage to confirm the FAST tuition rate for a specific award year as per Texas Administrative Code, Section 13.504.

Posted 08/25/2023

Participating institutions are responsible for ensuring that students eligible for the FAST program incur no cost when taking an eligible dual credit course, including tuition, books, fees, and other educational materials. Participating institutions are not prevented from entering into contracts with school districts or charter schools which ensure that the school district or charter school provides the student with the computer access necessary to take the online course.

Posted 08/25/2023

Yes. In order to ensure the THECB delivers funding only for eligible students as defined in state law and board rules, an institution must provide the ten-digit TSDS Unique ID in the institution’s reported data so that THECB can confirm that a student meets the criteria to be classified as educationally disadvantaged for the funded period. The TSDS Unique ID allows THECB and TEA to ensure an accurate match between the THECB and TEA data documenting student eligibility for funding purposes.

In the first year of the program (FY 2024), if the institution cannot provide a TSDS Unique ID, the institution must provide either the student’s valid Social Security number (SSN) or both the student’s State Alternative ID from the high school they are attending (nine-digits, starting with an “S”) and the school code for the high school the student is attending. THECB will use this data to attempt a secondary match with the TEA data. However, only a TSDS Unique ID can ensure a match in situations where the institution and the high school report differing nine-digit IDs.

THECB will update the CBM manuals and other reporting requirements to reflect this requirement.

Posted 08/25/2023

There is currently no exemption from meeting the requirements under Texas Administrative Code, Section 21.4. However, if the institution has determined that the student is eligible to participate in the FAST program prior to the census date, then Rule 21.4 would not apply to that student.

Posted 08/28/2023

If the institution covered through any means (e.g., waived, exempted, credited, reversed, etc.) tuition or other course charges, such as fees, books, or supplies for dual credit courses for a student who the institution later determined was “ineligible” for the FAST program there would be no prohibition against collection of those tuition or charges in the agency’s rules.

Posted 08/28/2023

Only a student taking a course offered through an institutional agreement, as outlined in Texas Administrative Code, Section 4.84, from an institution of higher education that has opted to participate in FAST, is considered to be enrolled in a dual credit course that is subject to the maximum FAST tuition rate.

Posted 09/01/2023

Only a student taking a course offered through an institutional agreement, as outlined in Texas Administrative Code, Section 4.84, from an institution of higher education that has opted to participate in FAST, is considered to be enrolled in a dual credit course that is subject to the provision to incur no cost if they meet all other eligibility requirements.

Posted 09/01/2023

Only a student taking a course offered through an institutional agreement, as outlined in Texas Administrative Code, Section 4.84, from an institution of higher education that has opted to participate in FAST, is considered to be enrolled in a dual credit course that is subject to the maximum FAST tuition rate.

Posted 09/01/2023

Only a student taking a course offered through an institutional agreement, as outlined in Texas Administrative Code, Section 4.84, from an institution of higher education that has opted to participate in FAST, is considered to be enrolled in a dual credit course that is subject to the provision to incur no cost if they meet all other eligibility requirements.

Posted 09/01/2023

Maybe. If a student participated in the National School Lunch Program and was coded as participating by any Texas public school or open-enrollment charter using Economic-Disadvantage-Code (table C054) ‘01,’ ‘02,’ or ‘99’ in any of the four school years prior to the academic year in which the student is enrolled in the dual credit course, then the student is eligible for FAST, if all other requirements are met. The institution may receive students’ eligibility statuses from the THECB if they submit a roster of students registered for current dual credit courses using their TEA-issued Texas Student Data System (TSDS) Unique ID.

Posted 09/18/2023

Maybe. If a student participated in the National School Lunch Program and was coded as participating by any Texas public school or open-enrollment charter using Economic-Disadvantage-Code (table C054) ‘01,’ ‘02,’ or ‘99’ in any of the four school years prior to the academic year in which the student is enrolled in the dual credit course, then the student is eligible for FAST, if all other requirements are met. The institution may receive students’ eligibility statuses from the THECB if they submit a roster of students registered for current dual credit courses using their TEA-issued Texas Student Data System (TSDS) Unique ID.

Posted 09/18/2023

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) will provide each participating institution with a disbursement for each fall, spring, and summer semester after the institution’s eligible enrollments have been certified. Each disbursement will equal the FAST tuition rate multiplied by the number of semester credit hours (or equivalent) in which eligible students were enrolled in dual credit courses at the institution for the relevant semester.

For example: For FY 2024

Fast Tuition Rate ($55) x (SCH for semester) = Eligible Funding

Posted 09/18/2023

Yes. A school district or charter school can opt-out of entering into an institutional agreement, as outlined in Texas Administrative Code, Section 4.84, if the terms of the agreement between to ISD/charter and the partnering IHE cannot be agreed upon.

Posted 10/18/2023

No. Once a community college district chooses to participate in the FAST program, it must meet the requirements for participation for every school district in which an institutional agreement for dual credit has been agreed upon, as outlined in Texas Administrative Code, Section 4.84.

Posted 10/18/2023

While there is no limit on the number of times an institution can submit a roster to the THECB to confirm if an enrolled dual credit student was reported to TEA as “educationally disadvantaged” in any of the four school years prior to the academic year, this process must be completed prior to the deadline set by the THECB each semester. This ensures that students are confirmed prior to the institution completing the certification process for payment of FAST funds for eligible coursework each semester.

Posted 10/18/2023

Fines and penalties are not considered mandatory course-related expenses. As such, these charges would not fall within the requirement that a participating institution must ensure that an eligible student incurs no cost for their enrollment in any dual credit course at the institution.

Posted 01/03/2024

If the institution or school has made a no cost approach for these materials available and clearly documented with the student how to pursue the no cost approach, then a cost incurred when a student decides not to use the no cost approach would not be considered a mandatory course-related expense. As such, the cost would not fall within the requirement that a participating institution must ensure that an eligible student incurs no cost for their enrollment in any dual credit course at the institution.

Posted 01/03/2024

Yes. If a student is taking an eligible dual credit course offered through an institutional agreement, as outlined in Texas Administrative Code, Section 4.84, and meets all other program eligibility criteria, an institution of higher education that has opted to participate can receive FAST funding for the applicable semester.

Posted 03/06/2024