Overview
- The Board of Regents voted 15-1 on Thursday to raise resident undergraduate tuition by 2 percent and raise segregated student fees by an average of 3.5 percent for the 2026–27 year, a change the system projects will yield about $22 million for fiscal 2027.
- University officials say the money is intended to pay state-mandated salary increases and to help campuses manage higher costs for utilities, maintenance, technology, supplies and student services.
- Republican state leaders and gubernatorial candidates criticized the vote and have signaled possible responses, including proposals for a tuition freeze or new legislative oversight of the UW System.
- The Regents elected Kyle Weatherly as board president and Ashok Rai as vice president during the same meeting, and Regent Timothy Nixon cast the lone no vote citing concern about burdening students and future budget consequences.
- The decision follows the end of a decade-long tuition freeze that ran from 2013 through 2023, and system presentations stressed that UW tuition remains comparatively low among Midwest public peers even as officials warn further state action could constrain future tuition decisions.