Nevada’s higher education regents voted 8 to 5 on Friday to approve tuition increases of 9 to 12 percent at the state’s eight public colleges and universities. The hikes will take effect over the next three years to address a $46.5 million annual systemwide budget shortfall.
At the University of Nevada, Reno and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in-state undergraduate students will pay an additional $1,200 per year, while out-of-state students will pay an extra $3,800 annually. Community college students in lower-division courses will see a 9 percent increase, while those in upper-division courses and all full-time students at four-year institutions face the 12 percent hike.
System officials defended the proposal as necessary to maintain educational quality. System Chancellor Matt McNair noted that Nevada currently ranks second-lowest nationally in net tuition — the amount students actually pay after scholarships and financial aid are applied. “We don’t make this recommendation lightly,” McNair said, “but this is the best we can do in terms of balancing value and affordability.” He said Nevada would still rank between third and fifth in net tuition after the increase.
Chris Viton, the system’s chief financial officer, warned that accepting less funding would force difficult cuts. Without the increase, he emphasized, schools would be forced to “temporarily or permanently eliminate hundreds of staff positions and reduce class offerings to students.”
However, Regent Jeffrey Downs voted against the increase, arguing the system had other options. Downs said he was disturbed by the argument that milder increases would require cutting academic programming. “Students pay for classes and that generates revenue for the schools,” Downs said, suggesting that “the milder tuition increases could have saved money by cutting executives’ salaries instead.”
The increases weigh on students already stretched financially. Stephanie Flores, a Nevada State University student, said that for many, the hike will “not just make college harder but make higher education feel out of reach.” Andrew Cirincione, president of the UNR College Democrats, works a part-time job while carrying a full course load to manage his current tuition costs. He said the burden falls squarely on students. “The thought of increasing tuition to make up for the government’s unbalanced state budget doesn’t seem like a fair trade,” Cirincione said. “Students are bearing the brunt of the decisions that our elected leaders are making, at a time when there’s already so much uncertainty in higher education.”
Faculty also raised concerns about the process. Staci Walters, president of Nevada’s higher education faculty union and a professor at Nevada State University, criticized the lack of transparency in budget decisions. “Nobody has a clear understanding of the budget and how money is allocated,” Walters told The Nevada Independent. She expressed frustration that funding gaps are often attributed to faculty costs. “It makes us sound like we are overpaid,” Walters said, noting that faculty had not received a cost-of-living adjustment for more than a decade before adjustments authorized in 2023 and 2024.
Higher education leaders said the tuition increase was needed to cover multiple pressures: historic faculty cost-of-living increases, student food and housing assistance, merit funding for faculty, and cybersecurity investments. Last year’s legislature approved nearly $60 million in bridge funding to cover part of the cost-of-living adjustments, but that support expires in fiscal year 2028. Most institutions will weather that expiration through revenue from the new tuition increase, but UNR will still face a $2 million shortfall when the bridge funding ends.
Regent Carol Del Carlo, who voted in favor of the increase, acknowledged the difficulty of the choice. “This is probably going to be one of the most difficult decisions I’ve made, going into my 10th year on this board,” Del Carlo said. She called for structural change, suggesting the system hire an outside consultant to conduct a comprehensive budgetary review.