This story was updated to reflect the final full board vote. A previous version discussed the initial vote by the Committee on Governance, Government Relations and Internal Affairs.
The UF Board of Trustees voted Thursday to increase fees for out-of-state and international students, approving a 5% increase for current students who have been at UF for at least a year and a 15% increase for incoming students. The increase was approved after Chair Mori Hosseini proposed a revision of the initial proposal, which would have raised rates by 15% for all affected students.
The increase will take effect beginning Fall 2026 and follows a 10% increase approved last year. For current students, the two increases amount to a roughly 15% increase over two years.
According to university officials in the meeting, about 200 nonresident students applied for financial assistance following last year’s fee increase, and roughly 2% of them — four students — received aid.
While some trustees expressed concerns about the administrative challenges of charging different fee rates to current and incoming students, the board agreed to automatically apply waivers for current students so they will pay only a 5% increase.
Hosseini said the additional revenue would help the university maintain its 16-to-1 student-faculty ratio by hiring more professors.
“We’re hiring people,” he said. “That money needs to go towards that and towards bringing additional top faculty to our university.”
Contact Swasthi Maharaj at smaharaj@alligator.org. Follow her on X @s_maharaj1611.
Swasthi Maharaj is a political science and politics, philosophy, economics and law (PPEL) junior at UF. This is Swasthi's fourth semester at The Alligator, and her third semester on the university desk. She's also reported on the enterprise desk. Swasthi loves coffee, reading, going to concerts, baking and taking long walks.
