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Rutgers Board approves $5.9 billion FY2025-26 budget and endorses tuition, fee and housing rate increases
Summary
At a July 8 virtual meeting the Rutgers Board of Governors approved a $5.9 billion consolidated FY2025-26 budget and unanimously endorsed tuition increases (generally 5% in-state, 6% out-of-state), a 5% rise in mandatory fees, and housing/dining rate increases effective Fall 2025; low-income protections were cited for families with AGI $65,000 or less.
The Board of Governors of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, unanimously approved a consolidated Fiscal Year 2025-26 expense budget of $5.9 billion and endorsed accompanying increases to tuition, mandatory student fees and room-and-board rates during a special virtual meeting on July 8, 2025.
President Tate said the proposed budget "sustains Rutgers’ momentum as an engine of social mobility while prioritizing resource development to deliver financial aid to students," and thanked the administration and legislators who supported the process. The Board, led by Chair Amy Towers, heard a detailed presentation from the administration before voting.
Tilak Lal, chair of the Committee on Finance and Facilities, reported that the committee reviewed the administration's recommendations in detail. J. Michael Gower, executive vice president and chief financial officer, and Catherine Brennan, vice president for financial planning and analytics and chief budget officer, presented slides showing the consolidated operating budget and major revenue and expense drivers, including that 76% of spending supports the university's core instructional, research and clinical missions.
Brennan outlined the administration's rate proposals: a 5% tuition increase for most in-state undergraduate students and a 6% increase for most out-of-state undergraduate students; a 5% increase in mandatory student fees for most undergraduates; and housing increases generally around 6% with dining-plan increases of approximately 7% on the New Brunswick campus (4% on Newark and variable on Camden). She said under the tuition assistance programs, students from families with an adjusted gross income of $65,000 or less will not be affected by the increases and a sliding scale will phase in impacts for families with incomes up to $100,000.
After the presentation, Lal moved the resolution approving the FY2025-26 consolidated expense budget and the Board voted to approve it. Lal subsequently moved separate resolutions endorsing the tuition schedule, changes in mandatory student fees and the proposed room-and-board and residence education rates; each motion was seconded and carried unanimously with no discussion recorded.
The budget materials attached to the meeting record show total revenues and expenditures of approximately $5.94 billion and a detailed breakdown by campus and program. The administration presented a range of campus-specific figures, including proposed housing rates and dining-plan pricing for New Brunswick, Newark and Camden; those schedules will take effect for the 2025-26 academic year.
Also during the meeting, Chair Towers presented the Executive Committee's nomination of Amy B. Mansue for appointment as a Board of Governors member to the Camden Board of Directors (term coterminous with her Board term); the Board approved the nomination unanimously and Towers welcomed Mansue back.
The Board reported no conflicts of interest, no old business and no new business, and adjourned at approximately 12:00 p.m. The administration and Board said the changes are intended to preserve educational quality while protecting affordability for the lowest-income students.
