CORRECTION: This story was updated to clarify that the proposal was approved by the Committee on Governance, Government Relations and Internal Affairs, and not the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees will vote on the proposal at the full board meeting beginning at 4 p.m.
On Thursday morning, a UF Committee on Governance, Government Relations and Internal Affairs unanimously approved a proposal to increase tuition and fees for out-of-state and international students by 15%. If approved, it will mark the second consecutive year of nonresident tuition hikes.
The proposal now advances to the full board for consideration, beginning at 4p.m.
The increase will take effect beginning Fall 2026 and follows a 10% increase approved last year. The two increases raise nonresident tuition costs by a collective 25% over two years, impacting incoming and current students.
In the proposal, university officials said the increase is needed to offset rising instructional and operational costs while helping UF remain competitive with peer institutions. Even with the increase, they wrote, UF’s out-of-state tuition would still be among the lowest in the country.
The increase, if approved, would affect a substantial portion of UF's student body. According to UF's 2024-25 Common Data Set, more than 12% of undergraduate students are from outside Florida, and nearly one in five first-year students come from out of state or abroad.
The decision to increase fees comes amid broader discussions about nonresident enrollment in Florida's public university system. Earlier this year, state lawmakers advanced a proposal that would require public universities to reserve 95% of new enrollments for Florida residents, reducing the share of seats available to out-of-state students.
The approval to move forward the proposal also comes as UF’s pause on out-of-state and international transfer students — originally meant to last two weeks — stretches over two months.
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.
