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Regents approve modest FY27 tuition, fee and housing increases averaging about 3%
Summary
The South Dakota Board of Regents approved fiscal year 2027 on-campus tuition increases averaging 2.4%, systemwide mandatory-fee adjustments and housing and meal-rate changes that yield a system average cost-of-attendance rise of about 3%. The board cited salary, operating and technology cost pressures.
The South Dakota Board of Regents on May 19 approved a suite of fiscal year 2027 tuition, mandatory-fee, housing and related rate changes that system staff said are needed to cover salary and operating-cost pressures.
Heather Forney, vice president for finance and administration for the Board of Regents, told the board the baseline recommendation is a 2.4% increase to on‑campus tuition tied to a 1.4% salary policy, rising operating costs and steep increases in technology spending. "What we would recommend at this point in time would essentially be a 2.4% increase to, on campus tuition," Forney said to the board.
The board approved the package after a period of discussion. Forney said the recommended package includes campus-specific exceptions: Dakota State requested an 8% increase for Ph.D. programs, South Dakota Mines requested a 5% in‑person tuition increase, and USD’s law and medical programs each requested 5% increases for FY27. Forney also outlined mandatory-fee adjustments: replacement of bond‑funded amounts with credit‑hour increases (for example, a $1.83 per credit‑hour increase described at one campus split among student organization funding, career-development support, union operations and wellness services) and other targeted fee changes.
On housing and food service the board recommended a 2.8% housing increase and a 3.3% increase for meal plans (the latter tied to the "meals away from home" CPI). Forney noted SDSU reworked meal-plan options following a student survey and Dakota State proposed a lower‑rate housing option for a hall with fewer amenities. The combined effect of tuition, gap, laptop and housing changes produced a systemwide average total cost‑of‑attendance increase of roughly 3%.
Forney detailed special‑discipline and delivery fees under Item 7c: most discipline fees would rise with inflation (about 1.7%), while STEM and engineering fees (including School of Mines and some SDSU programs) would increase about 5%. The board also approved a new HyFlex delivery fee at Northern of $32.40 and modest increases to application, vehicle registration and certain assessment fees.
Board members and several campus presidents emphasized affordability while also acknowledging inflationary pressures. A student representative said the increases were "pretty modest increases with clearly demonstrated need." Regents voted by voice to approve the tuition, fee, housing and related items as presented.
Next steps: the approved rates will be published in the board’s attachments and implemented for fiscal year 2027; the board did not request further readings and moved several items by single motions during the meeting.
