DeKALB- NIU is increasing tuition and room and board fees by 5% for all incoming students while also increasing additional fees for all current and incoming students for fiscal year 2026.
A special meeting of the Board of Trustees was held at noon on Feb. 20 in Altgeld Hall, room 315. The meeting immediately followed a finance committee meeting at the same location in which motions were approved for a vote.
Citing an increase in operational costs, the Board of Trustees passed a 5% increase in tuition of undergraduate, graduate and law school tuition. In accordance with the Truth-in-Tuition initiative, this increase will only apply to incoming students.
For undergraduate students, this will mean the cost per credit hour rate will go from $377.04 to $395.89 beginning in the 2026 fiscal year. This means that capped tuition at 12 or more credit hours for a full year (or two terms) will increase from $10,230.68 to $10,742.22 .
Graduate students will face the same tuition increase, going from $369.24 per credit hour to the new $387.70. Capped tuition at twelve credit hours for one full year will increase from $8,861.76 to $9,304.80 .
Northern Illinois University College of Law domestic tuition will increase from $16,548.72 to $17,376.00 for one full year.
The board noted that despite the changes, NIU remains one of the lower schools in terms of tuition increases over the past years in Illinois.
“Everything that is being done is to ensure that we have affordability and accessibility for future students. Stay the course,” finance committee board member Montel Gayles said.
The Board of Trustees also approved a 5% increase in pricing for Northern Illinois University room and board. Finance Committee Liaison, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer George Middlemist reminded the community that the university remains competitive in its housing prices compared to other Illinois universities.
This change applies to students in Neptune Hall, Gilbert Hall, Grant Towers, Stevenson Towers, Patterson Hall and the Northern View Apartments.
In combination with decreases in university spending, these increases aim to stabilize NIU’s budget.
“The reports show us that the revenue is mostly down. We are trending towards a targeted, or better than budgeted performance, but we have yet to recognize that performing on budget still means roughly a $15 million loss for the year,” finance committee Chairman Dennis Barsema said.
Board members emphasized the importance of closing the existing financial gap all while creating a balanced budget to rebuild the university’s financial health. In the meeting, issues such as FAFSA delays, policy changes, inflation, as well as the COVID19 pandemic were cited as sources of financial setbacks for the university throughout the past years.
Middlemist shared that 47% of Northern Illinois University undergraduate students do not pay out of pocket tuition, emphasizing the importance of financial support to the community. In response to the increase in tuition, the AIM HIGH initiative will be expanded to include more eligible students.
Specific fee increases for undergraduate, graduate and law school students were also presented and passed. Unlike changes in tuition, these fee changes will apply to both incoming and current students.
Undergraduate students will see a general fee increase from a total of $97.01 to $102.12 with increases in cost for Student Support Services and University Advancement fee categories.
Graduate students will face the same $5.11 increase with their total fee cost changing from $140.51 to $145.62.
Law school students will experience a fee difference going from $279.91 to $325.67 with an additional increase in the Law Program Support fee category.
No changes to student health insurance premiums are set to be made for the upcoming fiscal year.
The next Board of Trustees meeting is scheduled for March 20.
