New tuition hikes are coming to all Utah colleges. Here’s what that looks like at your school.

After years of scrutiny for rubber-stamping tuition hikes, Utah’s higher education board met Friday and approved some of the lowest increases in recent state record.

For nearly six hours, Utah Board of Higher Education leaders deliberated and debated over every detail of the requests from each of the state’s eight public colleges and universities. In the end, they approved small increases for all, adding to an overall tuition and fee bump of 2.23% for the system — an amount lower than last year and lower than the annual inflation rate.

“That’s not accidental but a result of intentional policy and direction,” said Geoff Landward, the commissioner over higher education for the state, at the conclusion of the meeting. “Overall, it’s the students who win in terms of affordability.”

Over the past few years, Utah’s political leaders have grown increasingly concerned about the growing expenses of higher education, including ballooning administrative costs and how that is passed onto students.

Audits requested by the Legislature in 2018 and 2020 strongly criticized the board — whose members have all since been replaced — for approving tuition proposals without question or analysis, never rejecting a requested hike, and for allowing long lists of unexplained fees to be charged.

Continuing with their crusade against excessive costs, lawmakers this year approved a $60.5 million budget reduction for the state’s public colleges and universities to push them to rein in spending and reallocate money to more efficient programs that graduate students at higher rates and lead to higher-paying jobs.

And that cut came with a warning from the Legislature: Schools could not raise tuition to try to offset the losses. They need to learn how to operate with less.

Landward said all of that has prompted the board to be more careful when appraising requests for tuition increases, which also included milder increases last year, for a total of 3.1%, and marked the first time the board ever reduced the proposed increase for any school.

This year followed that pattern with small cuts to three institutions’ requests: Salt Lake Community College, Utah Tech University and Utah State University.

Landward and Deputy Commissioner Nate Talley also worked with the presidents of each school to lower their asks before the formal presentations Friday.

Utah Tech University had the highest overall percentage increase at 2.8%, while the University of Utah had the largest dollar bump at $224 added for the average student each year.

Snow College remains the cheapest overall option in the state, while Weber State University proposed a standout request to not increase tuition at all for students who are working toward a two-year associate degree and have the fewest credit hours of coursework.

Landward specifically commended that proposal, calling it “innovative” and a real effort to put students first. And it will mean that half of the roughly 32,000 students at the Ogden school won’t see any increase to their university costs this coming academic year, starting this summer.

Still, Landward doesn’t believe the watchful eyes of lawmakers will be turning away from higher education soon. There are new concerns about fees, he said, including for supporting athletics and food pantries on campuses. And state leaders are worried about a forecast enrollment dip across the system.

“There’s a larger conversation brewing,” he said Friday. The changes, he added, do “not alleviate the pressure that we’re facing.”

Here are the latest tuition and fee changes approved, in order of the highest combined cost to the lowest.

University of Utah

• Tuition increase: 3.4%, or $318 more per year.

• Additional fee changes: Fees will decrease by $93.80, for a total of $1,109 per year.

• New combined total for average in-state student: 2.1% increase overall, for $10,848 per year.

The state’s flagship university continues to have the highest tuition in the state — more than $2,000 more per year than the next highest.

But U. President Taylor Randall said Friday that the school remains among the cheapest in comparison to its peer institutions out of state. And the benefits the U. provides students, he added, “hopefully exceed the price of tuition that we’re charging.”

The university has the highest six-year graduation rate of any public school in the state, at 65%, he mentioned. The median earnings for graduates of the U. are also the highest, starting at more than $67,000 annually.

Randall said the school also naturally has more expenses as a top research institution, which produces 51% of all science, math, engineering and technology, or STEM, graduates in Utah (while the other seven public schools combined produce the remaining 49%). It costs more, he said, to have the specialized labs and equipment necessary for that.

Additionally, the average in-state student ends up paying only about half the sticker price of tuition due to scholarships and financial aid, he said.

With its proposal this year, the U. decreased fees overall by moving some of those into tuition (which increased those costs). That included the fees previously designated for mental health, general health services and student government. The state has instructed schools to shift fees into tuition when they provide a benefit to all students and are a necessary service, such as counseling.

The school also eliminated a $5 per year sustainability fee, with the intention of absorbing those costs with other institutional funds.

The U. received approval for several differential tuition rate increases, as well. Those are when a specific program charges higher tuition because the costs associated with teaching the curriculum are higher. The U. will have increased tuition for its undergraduate nursing program (about a 3% change) and degrees in its College of Science (an increase from $60 to $85 to help cover the expense of lab work). A handful of graduate business programs will also see a jump in price.

The state board debated those proposals, raising concerns about the growing costs, before ultimately approving them and promising to return to the topic in the future.

Utah State University

• Tuition increase: 2.68%, or $204.40 more per year.

• Additional fee changes: Fees will increase by $15.23, for a total of $948.15 per year for students at the Logan campus.

• New combined total for average in-state student: 2.6% increase overall, for $8,779 per year.

The board approved lower fee increases than USU had proposed, reducing by half the amount the school could collect to support music and theater performances. “I think that one’s the most concerning for me,” said board Chair Amanda Covington.

The school had wanted to raise that fee by 31.5%, or by $6.70, for a total cost of $27.96 per student in fees paid annually for theater. It was approved, instead, to collect an additional $3.35 per student each year.

Matt Richey, the student body president for USU, said the theater has been experiencing increased costs to build sets because of the inflated price for lumber. Board members, though, said they were worried about raising the fee too much too fast.

Other fee increases for campus recreation, a student food pantry and updated campus transportation moved forward. Richey said he is excited for the transportation improvements, which are part of an ongoing effort to get new buses that are more accessible for individuals with disabilities.

The board debated for a while the costs to support the food pantries at USU and other schools. They passed a resolution directing schools to try to get more community support and donations before asking all students to contribute in fees.

Interim USU President Alan Smith — who took over the post after Elizabeth “Betsy” Cantwell unexpectedly resigned — said he would like the school’s endowment to eventually cover the resource. “The students have taken it on themselves to try to contribute to this,” he added.

Richey noted that an election done on campus concluded that 75% of the 2,200 students who responded supported funding the food pantry. But those who participated represent a small fraction of the 18,000 total who attend the school, board member Steve Neeleman contended.

The student body president also said that 5,000 unique students visited the pantry last year over 30,000 visits; 60% of the students at USU, he added, report being low or very low for food security.

The fees increases for USU only apply to its main Logan campus and not its statewide satellites, which will not see any jump this year.

Southern Utah University

• Tuition increase: 4.35%, or $269 more per year.

• Additional fee changes: Fees will decrease by $138, for a total of $638 per year.

• New combined total for average in-state student: 1.9% increase overall, for $7,093 per year.

“Increasing tuition is not something that we take lightly,” said SUU President Mindy Benson.

The Cedar City school did not increase tuition for five academic years, from fall 2019 through spring 2024. That included a one-year freeze for all public schools, starting fall 2023, instituted by Utah Gov. Spencer Cox to help students recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Benson raised tuition for the first time last year and requested to do so again this year, with the school now breaking above $7,000 total in costs.

The increase of 4.35% for tuition, though, is largely from shifting fees into tuition for the student health center, counseling services, the testing center and tutoring. Together, those moves amounted to $130 per student each year taken out of fees.

The school also reduced the fees students pay for athletics on campus by $3 and eliminated fees that went to maintaining university traditions and an online resume program.

Benson said the mental health fee, in particular, should have been moved into tuition “long ago” because it is something most students use and benefit from. She sees it as essential to their ability to attend college and succeed.

With the school being in a rural community, she noted, there aren’t a lot of options outside of the school for students to seek therapy or counseling. And 80% of students, she said, have reported using or needing mental health resources.

Landward also called those services “mission critical.” The board didn’t make any changes to SUU’s proposal before approving it.

Most of the tuition increase at SUU will be used for annual staff compensation increases, the president said. Each year, the Legislature designates 75% of the funds needed to go to those mandated raises for state employees, meant to offset inflation. Universities are expected to cover the rest with tuition, as well as the cost of any additional promotions.

The school will also use some to start increasing pay for students working on campus, Benson said, so they make more than minimum wage.

Weber State University

• Tuition increase: 2.62% (or $147.18 more per year) for students with fewer than 60 credit hours of classes completed; 5.03% (or $282.78 more per year) for students with more than 60 credit hours completed.

• Additional fee changes: Fees will decrease by $147.18, for a total of $788.80 per year for all students.

• New combined total for average in-state student: 0% net change for students with fewer than 60 credit hours of classes completed, leaving costs at $6,557 per year; 2.1% increase for students with more than 60 credit hours completed, to $6,692.84.

Weber State is a dual-mission institution, which means it serves students getting two-year associate degrees and standard four-year bachelor’s degrees (it also offers some master’s programs).

Under its new plan this year, the Ogden school will split out the costs for two-year degrees to start making that path more affordable — and closer to the price tag at community colleges.

As such, students with fewer than 60 credit hours of coursework completed will not see any net increase this year.

Weber State President Brad Mortensen said 49.4% of the school’s enrollment is students with fewer than 60 credit hours, so all of them will see the benefit. And it’s a move the university would like to continue in the future.

“We think that’s really important to address the needs for access and completion,” Mortensen said.

Meanwhile, those with more than 60 credits and working toward a bachelor’s degree will see a fairly standard tuition increase.

The school had previously pitched the idea before the Utah Board of Higher Education, hoping to ask for funding from the state to offset the costs and lower the rate of tuition for students with fewer credits. That didn’t make it into the board’s budget to the Legislature this session, but some lawmakers said they were intrigued and want to hear more in the future.

With the money collected in raising tuition for students with more credit hours, the president said the school will cover employee compensation increases and improving cybersecurity on campus.

Utah Valley University

• Tuition increase: 3.4%, or $198.39 more per year.

• Additional fee changes: Fees will decrease by $30.63, for a total of $658.37 per year.

• New combined total for average in-state student: 2.6% increase overall, to $6,674.37 per year.

UVU also shifted its health services fee of $32.12 per student annually to its tuition costs.

And while it approved small increases for fees on student events, campus recreation and the arts, fees there overall decreased. That includes a significant reduction in what students were contributing toward paying off building bonds.

The board of higher education scrutinized but ultimately also approved a $4.05 fee bump per student each year, for a total of $166.17 collected from each student annually, in the fee that goes toward athletics. At UVU, that includes NCAA sports, which are more selective, as well as club sports that all students can participate in.

Board member Neeleman questioned if students should be expected to cover fees for sports that already make a substantial revenue, including in sponsorships and ticket sales to community members, and only include about 500 students out of nearly 47,000 students at the Orem school — which has the largest enrollment of any higher education institution in the state.

There also are many students who don’t want to go to those events, so Neeleman said charging them seems wrong. And it’s often the largest fee. He feels it’s also not directly tied to the board’s focus of getting students to complete their degrees.

Landward said the body needs to have a larger discussion about athletics fees, and, he believes, it will vary by school. The University of Utah, for instance, has a massive athletics program, where other schools do not have as much support. But sports also create community and identity for a school.

He suggested that the board consider in the future whether those fees could be shifted instead to user fees, applying only to those who go to games and participate.

Mimi Barney, the student body president at UVU, said she doesn’t want to see the conversation move to a point where the coverage for intramural sports, which include thousands of students, are defunded.

Meanwhile, the tuition and fees increases will not affect 31% of students at UVU, who are high school students signed up for college courses and pay per credit hour. Additionally, Jim Mortensen, the acting president of UVU — no relation to Brad Mortensen at Weber — said 58% of students also receive waivers, grants and scholarships and don’t pay the full price tag.

The school said it plans to dedicate the money it collects with the tuition increase to cybersecurity improvements. The Legislature dedicated some funds this year for public colleges and universities to update their computer systems and digital security, but it wasn’t enough to cover what UVU needed, Jim Mortensen added.

The current technology on campus, including Wi-fi routers, is significantly outdated, Mortensen said. That leaves the school — and anyone connecting to its network — at risk of being hacked.

“We want to make sure we’re proactively addressing that,” Mortensen said. “That’s a real concern for us.”

The school also received approval for a differential tuition increase for its master’s of business administration program, which requires an international trip for all students as a learning experience. That will increase in cost by 9.3%, or a difference of $780, for a total of $9,144 per semester for residents of Utah.

Utah Tech University

• Tuition increase: 2.5%, or $133 more per year.

• Additional fee changes: Fees will increase by $41.50, for a total of $913.5 per year.

• New combined total for average in-state student: 2.8% increase overall, to $6,481.81 per year.

Utah Tech University in St. George increased tuition and fees by the highest overall percentage in the system.

Interim President Courtney White — who is continuing to serve in the role until newly selected president, Shane Smeed, takes office on May 1 — said it is not an action the school took lightly: “There is probably not a decision we think more about each year.”

The board approved the school’s full request for tuition, but it did trim a fee request for student government, from a proposed 9.4% jump down to 6.5%. The savings aren’t huge: Each student will pay $2.53 less each year.

Overall, the biggest increase in student fees at the school comes from an additional $44 charged per student annually to go toward constructing a new student union building. Starting in the fall, students will now be paying $98 a year to that cost. That’s an 81.5% jump year over year.

Bella Estes, the student body president at Utah Tech, said this is a project that students want. “The current [building] we have is extremely outdated,” she said; it was constructed in 1994.

The money collected will help cover the total $75 million price tag for the new space; but most current students won’t see the benefits of that, likely graduating before its built. Still, Estes said students were polled and voted to have the fees as part of their costs; this is the second of four years it will be charged, increasing by $44 each year.

The university also moved to eliminate a previous $13 “student inclusion” fee because it now violates the law, under HB261, that banned any diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in Utah’s public schools if those provided resources for students based on a specific identity.

To counter that, Estes helped create a new $7 “student resource” fee that will help cover offerings for all students, including child care and food pantry expenses.

Overall, White said the tuition increases will help cover an increase in pay for part-time faculty (about half of the professors at Utah Tech fall into that category, which White acknowledged isn’t ideal and isn’t the standard for most schools). He hopes to address that and hire more full-time faculty in the future, but that will require additional funding.

The school received approval for differential tuition increases, too, for two machine learning programs.

Salt Lake Community College

• Tuition increase: 5.3% or $207.45 more per year.

• Additional fee changes: Fees will decrease by $92, for a total of $406 per year.

• New combined for average in-state student: 2.6% increase overall, to $4,542 per year.

SLCC President Greg Peterson explained the unique demographics of the community college during his presentation. Most students there work in addition to going to school. The average student is only attending part time as they balance other demands, taking about 8 credit hours per semester of coursework. And the average age of students is 26, with many having children they also take care of.

That presents many challenges for students completing their degrees — and raising tuition and fees can have an outsized impact on retention, he said, with many choosing SLCC because of the affordability to get an associate degree.

“This is us being really mindful of what we’re asking from students,” Peterson said.

Accordingly, the school moved two fees — for student services and health and wellness — into tuition and eliminated one for recreation. The school had wanted to increase athletics by $3.50. The board voted to cap the bump at $2.55 per student annually, for a total of $104.55 that each student pays each year toward sports.

SLCC got approval to increase the fee for supplementing child care services by $2 a year, for a total of $25 per student annually for that. Peterson said, with the bump, the school will be able to provide vouchers to cover the cost of child care for an additional 160 students who need it, with locations at three of its campuses. And that’s a game-changer for getting students to attend and stay enrolled.

“We have a different background,” added Nahomi Rei, the college’s student body president.

The college will also collect additional money to support the food pantries it has on five of its campuses; the school already partners with local stores and the Utah Food Bank to help stock those, Peterson said.

Snow College

• Tuition increase: 2.5%, or $99.43 more per year.

• Additional fee changes: Fees will not increase, remaining at a total of $408 per year.

• New combined total for average in-state student: 2.3% increase overall, to $4,437 per year.

The state’s smallest school — at an enrollment of nearly 5,600 students — also continues to have the smallest tuition and fee costs.

Commissioner Landward had recommended slightly lower fee increases than Snow College had requested, but the board approved the central Utah school’s full proposal as presented.

Snow President Stacee McIff said it’s her goal to keep costs low, noting that 72% of the students there are considered low-income, 44% are the first in their family to attend college and 60% are from rural households. She wants the school to offer an “affordable, meaningful, future-focused experience.”

She did not propose any increase in fees. One fee for communications — which funded the student newspaper, radio and TV programs — was eliminated; it has been $8 per student annually. Those services will all move online, with no expected costs.

The money previously designated for that was then shifted to cover increases for the school’s theater performances, student activities and improvements to the fitness center.

The theater fee increased by $1.10 for a total for $10 per year for each student; it represented a 12% jump, though, which made some board members wary.

Sarah Heywood, the student body president, said in the small, rural communities of Ephraim and Richfield, where the school has campuses, the events held at Snow are the only entertainment option students have. “This is truly everything for students,” she said.

The school produces four plays a year, McIff added, and they always sell out; with the fee to supplement it, students can get tickets for a $1.

The student event fee, meanwhile, supports gatherings and club activities. And the fitness fee will help the school buy updated exercise equipment; that center also had 53,000 total visits from students last year, which Heywood says shows the demand, averaging 10 visits per student.

Like other schools, McIff said the tuition increases will support faculty and staff pay increases.