University of Minnesota regents approve significant tuition hikes and budget cuts for 2026

The University of Minnesota Board of Regents on Wednesday approved next year’s budget with steep tuition hikes and academic cuts, despite concerns from some students, faculty and staff that the spending plan will lead to fewer students and instructors.

U President Rebecca Cunningham ardently defended the university’s budget, denouncing some faculty members’ claims that the U spends too much on administrative costs. She called the tag phrase given that issue — “administrative bloat” — an easy out that doesn’t account for current struggles.

“I ask us all to reject that easy, clickbait answer,” she said.

The $5.1 billion budget, which passed on a 9-3 vote, includes a 7% cut to academic programs and raises tuition by 6.5% for undergraduate, in-state students attending the Twin Cities campus. That makes it the biggest hike in 14 years for the flagship campus.

Regents Robyn Gulley, James Farnsworth and Bo Thao-Urabe voted against the budget.

Cunningham said the budget prioritizes the U’s mission while managing the significant challenges faced by higher education. Officials cited flat funding from the state, high inflation and declining federal support for research.

Cunningham added that the U’s administrative spending is actually similar to peer universities across the United States.

She said she’s taken into account feedback received about the budget, and said she understood that some people find parts of it “confusing and painful.”

Universities across the U.S. have approved even deeper cuts than 7%, she said. At the U, she added, individual colleges and schools can choose what to cut, and those cuts don’t have to be specific to academics.

Officials have said the new budget invests in employees and improving decaying infrastructure. The budget includes a 4% bump in faculty and staff compensation, though many of the salary increases would be merit-based rather than across the board.

Gulley said she couldn’t support the budget because, if it was really about helping the U’s workers, it would include more funding for contingent faculty and student workers.

Cunningham said the budget will allow the U to address some of those issues with pay. “This is how we get there,” she said.

The Twin Cities campus’ tuition hike will bring costs to $16,132 a year for undergraduate residents of Minnesota. Room and board, plus fees, will go up by 6.8%. For out-of-state undergraduates attending the Twin Cities campus, tuition will rise by 7.5%.

At the U’s Duluth and Crookston campuses, tuition will increase by 4%, with a 5% increase for the Morris campus. Tuition costs for nonresidents at those campuses will range from $12,116 at Crookston to $19,224 at Duluth.

The proposed budget allots $15 million for the U’s new strategic plan, expected to be complete in November or December, and $60 million for strategic investments.