During a special meeting on March 18, the University of Utah Board of Trustees discussed a proposed 3.5% tuition increase for the 2026-2027 academic year. This change would add about $250 more every semester for undergraduates.
Trustees proposed the increase in response to HB 1, Higher Education Base Budget, which mandates a 2.5% discretionary pay increase for employees in higher education. According to the U’s Chief Financial Officer Tony Wagner, the increase would adjust salaries for inflation, retention and promotion, as well as academic and student necessities. “The state funds approximately 75% of that, and we fund approximately 25% of that with tuition,” Wagner said during the March meeting.
Breaking it down
Richard Preiss, English professor and Academic Senate President, explained how the tuition increase would impact faculty. In a written statement to The Chronicle, Preiss said, “These increases are pretty essential to faculty … I believe this is the first year in the last three that they haven’t cut our budget, which is refreshing to see.”
“Inflation has been running high over the last few years, driving up the cost of living for everyone who lives here, and the Salt Lake Valley has become an expensive place to live,” Preiss said. “Salary adjustments are necessary to retain the talent we have.”
In his statement, he added that even with the increase, the U “remains one of the best values in American higher education.”
“Our tuition is comparatively low for a research-intensive institution, and thanks to an academic job market that generates far more PhDs annually than can be employed, the faculty we hire come from the most elite universities and graduate programs in the country,” Preiss said. “You are really getting a first-rate education here for pennies on the dollar compared to what tuition would cost at an Ivy League university.”
Further action
To offset the tuition increase, the U will launch the Utah Promise Scholarship in the Fall 2026 semester. This scholarship will cover full tuition and fees for students from households with less than $100,000 in income and assets.
Additionally, Trustees will enact a 10% reduction in the computing fee, saving students $20 a year, as well as a new tuition payment option, no-fee eChecks or Automated Clearing House (ACH), where credit card payments will include a 3% service fee that aligns with colleges and universities across the country.
The Utah Board of Higher Education will meet on March 26 and 27 to review fee and tuition proposals from public colleges and universities statewide. Preiss explained that the expenditures all “benefit students in some way,” directly or indirectly.
“The expenditures come back to the student in a more distributed form, by maintaining the excellence of faculty and staff, which preserves the value of the degrees the U offers and makes the campus a more supportive environment for learning.”
The Board of Trustees will meet next on April 14.
