Nebraska Board of Regents approves 5% tuition increase for 2025-26 school year

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – The University of Nebraska Board of Regents voted to approve a 5% tuition increase for the upcoming school year on Thursday.

The tuition bump, along with nearly $20 million in spending cuts, is part of the university system’s 2025-26 budget.

Regents Robert Schafer and Kathy Wilmot were the only two who voted against the tuition increase.

While discussing the proposal, Wilmot said she didn’t agree with the 3.5% tuition increase from last year either.

“This is huge and it’s going to impact a lot of students, and I do believe we’re going to have kids now that toss the towel in on going to college,” she said.

Schafer said the regents should begin having some “tough discussions” on what the university will look like five years and 25 years from now.

“At some point, we’ve got to figure it out on our own and make some serious changes,” he said.

The tuition increase and budget cuts follow a 0.625% increase in state appropriations, which is significantly lower than the 3.5% request submitted by the Board of Regents.

In a document explaining the budget, the board said inflation, along with state and federal funding challenges “will require all academic and business units to reprioritize their spending to manage inflationary increases and funding reductions.”