The University of Nebraska Board of Regents will meet at 9 a.m. Thursday, June 18, in the board room at Varner Hall, 3835 Holdrege St., in Lincoln. The meeting is open to the public and will be live-streamed at www.nebraska.edu.
A detailed agenda for the meeting is available here.
During the meeting, the board will consider the university budget for the 2027 fiscal year, which is the second year of the current biennium. A tuition increase is proposed as a part of the university’s 2026-27 operating budget.
Last year, the board approved a 5% system-wide tuition increase following a 3.5% tuition increase in 2024. Prior to these adjustments, tuition rates remained unchanged from 2020 through 2024 during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the June 18 meeting, the board will consider a 4.25% tuition increase to address the cumulative impact of inflation-driven costs.
“Raising tuition is not a decision we make lightly,” said NU President Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D. “We strive to deliver an extraordinary educational experience for each of our students, and the budget the board is set to consider reflects that commitment. It preserves and strengthens our need- and merit-based scholarship programs, while ensuring we can continue providing an outstanding education that remains among the most affordable within our peer university group.”
Last year’s tuition increase followed a 0.625% increase in the university’s state appropriation – significantly less than the 3.5% increase the university requested to keep pace with inflation. In tandem with last year’s tuition increase, the university implemented budget cuts across each of its four campuses.
This coming fiscal year, which begins July 1, the university will see a 0.621% increase in state appropriations to its base budget, along with a $5 million reduction in biomedical research funding.
In addition, the carefully planned proposal for a system-wide institute on advanced artificial intelligence will also be considered by the Regents. This proposal is based upon the hard work for more than a year by faculty leaders from all NU campuses and will address teaching and learning, research and community engagement. The AI institute will be led by Dr. Adrian Wisnicki, a professor of English, faculty fellow of the Center for Digital Research in the Humanities, and the Digital Humanities Program Coordinator for the College of Arts and Sciences at UNL; and Dr. Santosh Pitla, a professor in the Department of Biological System Engineering, also at UNL.
The board will also consider:
- Approval of the president’s recommendation to name H. Dele Davies, M.D., as UNMC chancellor;
- Major renovations to the Selleck Quadrangle housing complex and Dining Hall;
- and a contract with ABM Industry Groups, LLC, to provide custodial services for Husker Athletics.