The University of Illinois Board of Trustees voted this week to raise the base tuition rate at all three campuses.
The rate hike takes effect in the Fall 2025 semester. The University of Illinois Springfield will charge 2% more. Both the Urbana-Champaign and Chicago campuses will see tuition go up 2.2%.
Rising costs driven by inflation are behind the decision.
“These modest increases will allow our universities to balance critical operating needs and the excellence our students and their families count on with the affordability we are committed to providing,” U of I System President Tim Killeen said. “Our trustees have voted to hold tuition costs in check over most of the past decade, something that has a profound impact on the families of Illinois and the students they send to our universities.”
The board pointed out the increases follow tuition freezes in seven of the previous 10 years. Last year, a freeze was approved at all three campuses.
The new tuition rates will only impact new undergraduates starting this fall. Under state law, resident undergraduates enrolling in public universities are guaranteed four years of unchanged tuition.
The base tuition for full-time, in-state undergraduates will be $12,992 per year in Urbana-Champaign, $11,424 in Chicago and $9,840 in Springfield. Increases were also approved for nonresident students enrolling in the fall.
Trustees also approved increases in room and board costs: a 5% increase at Urbana-Champaign to $13,848 a year; a 5% increase in Chicago to $14,130 a year; and a 4.4% increase in Springfield to $11,866 a year.
The U of I said it provides $298 million in financial aid a year, an increase of about $104 million over the past decade. Combined with state and federal aid, financial assistance enables more than a third of system undergraduates to pay no tuition or fees.
More than 67% of all Illinois-resident undergraduate students enrolled across the system receive some form of financial aid and over 51% pay less than $3,000 per semester. Illinois resident students make up 79% of all undergraduate enrollment.