(NewsNation) — Indiana’s public colleges and universities have committed to freezing in-state undergraduate tuition for the next two years, Republican Gov. Mike Braun announced Tuesday.
The freeze applies to all flagship and regional campuses across the state and will maintain current tuition costs and mandatory fees for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 academic years.
Braun called the move a “historic” step toward making higher education more affordable.
“The commitment made by all of Indiana’s public colleges and universities puts students and parents first and demonstrates to the rest of the country that Indiana is a leader in providing a high quality education at an affordable price,” Braun said in a statement.
The move includes all 15 of Indiana’s public higher learning institutions:
- Ball State University
- Indiana State University
- Indiana University Bloomington
- Indiana University East
- Indiana University Indianapolis
- Indiana University Kokomo
- Indiana University Northwest
- Indiana University South Bend
- Indiana University Southeast
- Ivy Tech Community College
- Purdue University West Lafayette
- Purdue University Fort Wayne
- Purdue University Northwest
- University of Southern Indiana
- Vincennes University
Braun had requested a 0% increase last month and challenged the schools to “eliminate redundancies and identify ways to streamline services without compromising quality.”
The agreement marks the first time since at least 2010 that more than two state campuses have kept tuition flat, according to Braun’s office.
The two-year annual tuition ranges from a low of $2,577 at Ivy Tech to a high of $12,144 at Indiana University Bloomington, which is still below the national average of $12,201 per year, according to NewsNation affiliate WXIN. Purdue University’s tuition was set at $9,992 in 2013 and remains frozen.
Braun urged schools not to make up the tuition freeze shortfall by raising rates for room and board.
”I don’t want you playing tricks on raising costs in other ways,” he said. ”The parent and the child are gonna be sophisticated enough, hopefully, with all the information they receive to see that they can’t have one part of it actually being held in line, and they’re doing it in a different way.”
Some institutions will likely increase tuition costs for international students.