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The University of Colorado Board of Regents approved a proposed 2026–27 budget during its meeting Thursday, agreeing to a 3% tuition increase for incoming��undergraduate students on the Boulder campus.��

Like all incoming undergraduates, these students will have their tuition locked in for four consecutive years of study via ������Ƶ��Undergraduate Tuition Guarantee. There are no recommended increases in mandatory student fees in the proposed budget.��

The budget proposal also includes a 1% merit pool and a $15.9 million adjustment pool for faculty and university staff salary. It also includes step increases for classified staff who are eligible.��

Earlier this month, the state legislature’s Joint Budget Committee approved the framework for the state budget Long Bill, which included decisions on tuition rate increases and compensation for classified employees. Nothing is final in terms of CU’s budget until the Long Bill is considered and approved by the State House and Senate and signed by the governor. This usually occurs in mid-May. The 2026–27 fiscal year begins July 1.��

Key aspects of the budget proposal����

Tuition rate changes

• 3% increase in tuition for incoming resident undergraduate students.��
• The tuition rate for an incoming resident undergraduate student enrolled in 30 credit hours at ������Ƶ will increase to $13,973 per year.
• A 3% increase in tuition for incoming nonresident undergraduate students. The�� tuition rate for an incoming nonresident undergraduate student enrolled in 30 credit hours at ������Ƶ will increase to $45,019 per year.
• Because of ������Ƶ tuition guarantee, students pay the same rate of tuition and mandatory fees for four years, allowing families to plan more easily.
• Up to a 4% increase in tuition for resident graduate students.

Housing and dining fees

• 4% increase in residence hall fees and 3% increase in graduate and family housing fees.��

Compensation expectations

• Regents approved a 1% merit pool for eligible faculty and university staff, plus a a $15.9 million adjustment pool.��
• Under the proposed budget, eligible classified staff will receive a step increase. Eligibility for step increase determined by years of service in the same job series.
• Nothing is final in terms of CU’s budget until the Long Bill is considered and approved by the State House and Senate and signed by the governor. This usually occurs in mid-May.

Institutional priorities��

• $8.5 million, or 5.3%, increase in institutional financial aid, pending final regents budget approval in June.

Student enrollment trends

• Total student enrollment projected to increase by 1.3%.
• Undergraduate student enrollment projected to increase by 1.7%.
• Projected resident transfer students near the highest in history, driven by efforts to improve transfer process for resident students from other Colorado institutions.
• Incoming undergraduate class projected to be in line with past three years.
• Graduate enrollment is projected to be down 0.8% from fall 2025.
• Due to larger prior incoming classes and improved retention, continuing undergraduate students are projected to increase by 2.2%.
• Continued uncertainty regarding both undergraduate international (up 1.4%) and graduate international (down 2.3%) student enrollment.
• One factor is the projected in-state transfer student numbers rising to near historic levels due to efforts to improve the transfer process for resident students.

Updates from Chancellor Justin Schwartz

Conference on World Affairs��

• This week, ������Ƶ hosted the Conference on World Affairs, which has included more than 60 speakers and panels. Among them, CWA partnered with the Steamboat Institute to host a debate between U.S. diplomats John Bolton and Susan Rice, reasserting the commitment Regent Frank McNulty spoke about in January—to bring the highest level of intellectual capacity to campus from across the political spectrum.��

U.S. News & World Report Graduate Program rankings

• High rankings in many programs, many moving up, including environmental law, aerospace engineering, physics, clinical psychology and seven distinct programs in the Leeds School of Business.
• In the specialty rankings, nearly all of the College of Engineering and Applied Science’s graduate degree programs were ranked in the top 20 among their public research university peers.

Big Ideas

• Update on the Big Ideas initiative, in which campus leaders asked the campus community to consider: What are the next big, audacious ideas that need our urgent attention? What transformative areas should we focus on in the coming years?��
• More than 600 submissions received so far.

Other business

The board also:��

• Approved the $6.75 million purchase of the site of a former car dealership at 1799 Exposition Drive in Boulder. The 18,919-square-foot facility will support the campus’s decarbonization goals by providing much-needed maintenance space capable of servicing ������Ƶ growing electric bus fleet.��Learn more about the Exposition Drive plans.����
• Approved a regent-initiated measure on AI technologies articulating that the university should implement policy promoting responsible, ethical and equitable use of AI, including generative AI, by students, faculty and staff. The measure reads in part: “The university shall appropriately leverage AI while protecting privacy, safeguarding security, and upholding transparency, fairness, and human oversight in alignment with its mission and values.”��approved by regents.
• Voted to discontinue the MA degree in journalism entrepreneurship in the College of Communication, Media, Design and Information (CMDI) due to lack of student interest. The last students in the program graduated in 2023 after the program’s three-year run. The primary journalism program in CMDI is unaffected.��
• Voted to discontinue the ME in electrical and computer engineering due to decline in student demand stemming from redundancy in offerings. The 10 students in the program as of spring 2026 will be able to complete their degrees with no changes in course offerings. The College of Engineering and Applied Science offers a successful non-technical ME in engineering management degree and will continue to do so.

The next regular board meeting will be held June 4–5 in Greeley.��