Worked example · Abilene
Two years at Cisco College (Abilene Educational Center), then two years at Angelo State University
This page compares published tuition and fees only. Housing, books, lab fees, distance-education and upper-level differentials, parking, and financial aid are omitted because mixing them in without a family's FAFSA is how directories invent savings. This is a published-price map, not a named state program.
Siblings: Austin ACC → Texas State / UT Austin · Houston HCC → Texas State · Dallas College → UNT Denton · Alamo Colleges → UTSA · TCC → UNT Denton · EPCC → UTEP · SPC → Texas Tech · Del Mar → TAMU-CC · TJC → UT Tyler · AC → WTAMU · STC → UTRGV · TSC → UTRGV · LC → TAMIU · MCC → TAMUCT · LIT → LU · OC → UTPB · VC → TAMUV · TC → TAMUT · Vernon → MSU · Blinn → TAMU · GC → UHCL · CTC → TAMUCT · AC → SFA · Ranger → Tarleton.
The question
An Abilene / Taylor County resident wants a public bachelor's. Path A: eight semesters at Angelo State University (ASU) Undergraduate Resident Fall 2026 / Spring 2027 schedule Estimated TOTAL 15 SCH. Path B: complete about 60 transferable semester hours at Cisco College's Abilene Educational Center (Online & Abilene Campus) at the published Out of District Resident rate, including Core Curriculum and — where it exists — a Field of Study, then finish two years at ASU. Does Path B show a lower published tuition-and-fee total?
We pair Cisco College's Online & Abilene Campus schedule with ASU because they sit in the same west-central Texas map. Abilene's resident universities are private and out of scope. Abilene is in Taylor County. TEC §130.172 places Taylor County in the Cisco Junior College District service area, but that statute does not make Abilene In District for the sticker. The default Cisco cell is therefore the Effective Fall 2026 Online & Abilene Campus Out of District Resident 15-SCH line — not the In District column. Cisco also publishes In District Resident and Out of State / International on that Abilene Campus table; those are warning rows. The Cisco Campus Out of District and In District totals are a footnote contrast only (lower campus rates — not the Abilene Educational Center default). ASU admissions pages exist as context only — not a PathMax admission promise and not invented articulation dollars. Texas Direct is credit application plus a THECB associate degree under Texas Education Code §61.834. It does not reserve an ASU seat. Admission is not guaranteed. Do not merge that language with TEC §51.8035.
Published rates used
| Item | Published figure | How we use it |
|---|---|---|
| Cisco College, Online & Abilene Campus / Abilene Educational Center, Effective Fall 2026, Out of District Resident, 15 SCH ($202 × 15) | $3,030 per semester | Default cell. Abilene / Taylor County is in the Cisco service area, not the In District tuition cell. Published combined tuition-and-fees rate $202.00 × 15 = $3,030. 60-hour math is pack arithmetic, not a Cisco printed 60-hour total: $3,030 × 4 = $12,120.00. Accident Insurance, activity fees, and lab/special fees are omitted. |
| Cisco College, Online & Abilene Campus, Effective Fall 2026, In District Resident, 15 SCH ($157 × 15) | $2,355 per semester | Warning only. Not the default Abilene / Taylor County cell. Same published table. In-district tracks the Cisco ISD core, not all of Taylor County. |
| Cisco College, Online & Abilene Campus, Effective Fall 2026, Out of State / International, 15 SCH ($238 × 15) | $3,570 per semester | Warning only. Not the default cell. Same published table: Out of State Resident and International are both $238.00 per SCH. |
| Cisco College, Cisco Campus schedule, Effective Fall 2026, Out of District 15 SCH ($182 × 15) / In District 15 SCH ($137 × 15) | $2,730 / $2,055 per semester | Footnote only. Lower campus rates. Do not use as the Abilene Educational Center default. |
| Angelo State University, Undergraduate Resident schedule, Fall Semester 2026 and Spring Semester 2027, 15 SCH Estimated TOTAL | $4,831.40 per semester | Default receiving-university cell. Published schedule Estimated TOTAL: State Tuition $750.00 + Designated Tuition "B" Fee $2,059.50 + Instructional Enhancement Fee $165.00 + Financial Records Svc Fee $231.00 + Advising Fee $50.00 + International Education Fee $4.00 + Library Fee $144.00 + Technology Services $390.00 + Undergrad Research Fee $15.00 + Student Service Fee $250.00 + Athletic Fee $432.00 + Recreational Sports Fee $100.00 + Outdoor Facilities Conservation Fee $30.00 + Univ. Center Fee $113.00 + Medical Services Fee $92.90 + Transportation Fee $5.00 = $4,831.40. Two years = $4,831.40 × 4 = $19,325.60; four years = $4,831.40 × 8 = $38,651.20. Distance education $50/SCH, upper-level Engineering/Business $25/SCH, course fees, parking, and housing are omitted. Hub year $9,662 and COA T&F $9,664 are rounded estimates — this cell uses the PDF $4,831.40 line. |
| ASU Undergraduate Non-Resident schedule, Fall 2026 / Spring 2027, 15 SCH Estimated TOTAL | $11,251.40 per semester | Warning only. Not the default Texas-resident cell. Same official Non-Resident schedule PDF. |
Sources retrieved September 30, 2026: Cisco College; Angelo State University; Angelo State University; Texas Constitution and Statutes. All sources
Cisco College (Abilene Educational Center) → Angelo State University versus four years at ASU
| Map | Published tuition & fees |
|---|---|
| Cisco Abilene OOD 60-hour path ($3,030 × 4) + 2 ASU Resident years ($4,831.40 × 4) | $12,120.00 + $19,325.60 = $31,445.60 |
| 4 ASU Resident years at the same Fall 2026 / Spring 2027 Undergraduate Resident schedule Estimated TOTAL 15 SCH line ($4,831.40 × 8) | $38,651.20 |
| Difference in these published lines | $7,205.60 lower on the 2+2 map — a sticker difference, not a savings guarantee |
Sources retrieved September 30, 2026: Cisco College; Angelo State University. All sources
What has to be true for the sticker gap to be real
- The Cisco Online & Abilene Campus Out of District $3,030 semester actually applies. Abilene is Taylor County. TEC §130.172 service area includes Taylor County — that does not make Abilene In District for the sticker. In District 15 SCH is $2,355. Out of State / International 15 SCH is $3,570. The Cisco Campus Out of District 15 SCH $2,730 and In District $2,055 lines are a footnote only — do not swap them into the default cell. Contact Cisco Admissions / Business Office to confirm residency classification under Texas statutes and Cisco district rules.
- ASU admits you as a transfer student. Texas Direct is credit application and, when Core plus Field of Study are complete, a THECB associate degree (TEC §61.834). It does not reserve an ASU seat. Admission is not guaranteed — even where ASU publishes admissions pages. Those pages are context and link-out only. Do not merge that credit / associate language with TEC §51.8035.
- The hours apply to the major. Use a completed Field of Study when THECB says it is complete. Computer Science, Biology, English, Architecture, and Engineering are not completed Texas Direct blocks on the THECB table we last fetched — do not treat them as one. See Texas Direct.
- You stay on the ASU Fall 2026 / Spring 2027 Undergraduate Resident schedule Estimated TOTAL $4,831.40 cell. Distance education $50/SCH, upper-level Engineering/Business $25/SCH, course fees, parking, and housing named as schedule exclusions are not in that total. Hub year $9,662 and COA T&F $9,664 are rounded estimates — do not swap them into the default cell.
- You do not add a fifth year. Extra semesters at university rates erase the gap.
What we omitted on purpose
This table is sticker tuition and mandatory fees only. Housing, food, books, parking, lab/special fees, distance-education and upper-level differentials, installment charges, Accident Insurance, activity fees, and cost-of-attendance living averages are omitted. College Scorecard average annual cost is net price after grants for first-time aid recipients and does not belong in this table. Dual-credit per-hour rates are not the default adult transfer cell. We do not invent articulation-agreement dollars from ASU admissions pages. Private Abilene universities are out of scope.
Sources retrieved September 30, 2026: Cisco College; Texas Constitution and Statutes; Angelo State University; Angelo State University; Angelo State University; Angelo State University; Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board; Texas Constitution and Statutes. All sources
Directory pages stay free. Published by Plain Steps. Optional $19 Texas Direct 2+2 worksheet.