The University of Minnesota is proposing dramatic tuition increases for next year, including a 6.5% tuition jump for undergraduate, in-state students on the Twin Cities and Rochester campuses — amid what U leaders call an "existential crisis" in American higher education.

The tuition hike announced Friday would be the biggest increase in 14 years at the Twin Cities campus. Officials blamed anticipated flat funding from the state and declining federal support for research in outlining the tuition spike and a 7% cut in academic programming for the proposed 2025-26 budget.

"Clearly, this is a once-in-a-lifetime assault on higher education in general, as an industry," said Gregg Goldman, the U's executive vice president for finance and operations. "My job and the president's job is to remain as nimble as we can as we watch what's happening at other institutions across the country."

Goldman said the effects of the Trump administration's tariffs could bring added costs to the U as well, describing them as a "pingpong game right now."

The $5.1 billion proposal, which balances the budget, includes a 4% bump in faculty and staff compensation, though most pay raises would be merit-based rather than across-the-board.

Overall, Goldman emphasized that the budget proposal invests in the U's employees and in improving its decaying infrastructure.

The deans of schools and colleges — such as the College of Biological Sciences and the College of Liberal Arts — were in charge of making the 7% cuts to academic programs, Goldman said, adding that they "did a phenomenal job" in preserving what was most important in their budgets.

The U also announced the planned closure of its Les Bolstad Golf Course, putting it up for sale because the historic 140-acre course in Falcon Heights isn't bringing in enough money to allow for extensive repairs.

Tuition rises to $16K a year

The Twin Cities campus' tuition hike would bring tuition costs to $16,132 a year for undergraduate residents of Minnesota. Room and board, plus fees, would also go up 6.8% at the flagship campus. For out-of-state undergraduates in the Twin Cities, tuition would rise 7.5%. At the U's Duluth and Crookston campuses, tuition would increase by 4%, with a 5% increase for the Morris campus.

Tuition costs elsewhere in the system range from $12,116 at Crookston to $19,224 at Duluth for nonresidents.

The changes would bring tuition for out-of-state undergraduates at the Twin Cities campus to $39,018.

"We are fiercely focused on making sure that even with this [tuition] increase that we have affordability for our four-year students by way of financial aid and all the other mechanisms that we have," Goldman said. "People focus on, what is the tuition [cost]? A better thing to focus on is the affordability and accessibility."

Goldman said the tuition hike "keeps us similar" to where the school placed last year among Big Ten institutions in terms of tuition costs — seventh overall.

The proposed budget also allots $15 million for the U's new strategic plan, expected to be complete in November or December, and sets aside one-time money to support research as federal support declines. The U is expecting a 10% to 30% decrease in research funding plus additional losses to the "indirect costs" that come with those grants, Goldman said.

What's next

"None of this is a done deal," said Andria Waclawski, the U's spokesperson, adding that the Board of Regents still must vote on it.

A public forum is scheduled for Thursday and the regents will discuss the budget in a committee meeting earlier that day. Public comments will be accepted online through June 17, and the board will vote on the budget June 18, Waclawski said.

"We have experienced significant cuts in federal research funding, and there is ongoing uncertainty in the future of federal funding and international student enrollment," President Rebecca Cunningham said in an online message Tuesday. "Now, more than ever, it's essential that we double down on our efforts to ensure the university maintains its financial sustainability."

Cunningham went on to say the U must be "diligent in efforts to limit expenses" and "thoughtful in formulating new strategies that prioritize our core mission." The U will have to focus even more on finding new revenue streams, she added.

Last year's $5 billion budget increased salaries for some employees, cut budgets in some parts of the university, and increased tuition by 1.5% to 4.5%.

The U isn't alone in increasing tuition significantly. Minnesota State, the largest system in the state with 33 schools, is considering tuition increases that would likely be the largest in more than a dozen years. Minnesota State officials said in April that tuition hikes could range from 3.5% to 9%, because of flat enrollment and lack of state funding.