MARSHALL — The Minnesota State Board of Trustees recently approved a tuition increase across all colleges and universities in the system.

An average undergraduate tuition increase of 6.25% was approved, and Southwest Minnesota State University’s increase is slated for 6.14%.

The Minnesota State system holds 33 colleges and universities, and the tuition increase was a part of the board’s approval on May 20 of the operating budget for the 2027 fiscal year. The system stated that, “The tuition increase is just part of how Minnesota State is planning to balance its budget.”

The increase comes as a result of limited funding the state system has received.

“Minnesota State colleges and universities are primarily funded by two sources: legislative funding and tuition. Minnesota State did not receive any new operational funding from the legislature in the last budgeting session (2025),” Minnesota State said in a release.

System-wide, the average undergraduate tuition increase will be $357 for colleges and $578 for universities, per student.

SMSU’s tuition jump, however, will be below the state average. The 6.14% increase will be an additional $287.67 in tuition per semester for a full-time undergraduate student, SMSU Associate Vice President of Advancement Nathan Polfliet noted.

The Minnesota State Board of Trustees also has a policy that requires all system schools to include student leaders in conversations about school budgets, to which SMSU did with the newest tuition increase.

“The process that we go through anytime there’s a tuition increase, includes consulting with students … Throughout the spring semester, we were working with students to get their input on the process,” Polfliet said. “They did provide a letter of support for the tuition increase, because they know inflation is causing prices to go up, and they want us to have the resources necessary to provide them with the opportunity to continue to be successful.”

Polfliet also mentioned that SMSU is grateful for the local legislators’ continuous support of the education provided at the university, stating that SMSU is “still one of the lowest cost options for higher education in Minnesota” despite the tuition increase.

Minnesota State also detailed that, “Annual full-time undergraduate tuition, before scholarships and grants, will still be the lowest of all higher education options in Minnesota, with an average of $6,074 at Minnesota State colleges and $9,827 at Minnesota State universities.”

Polfliet said SMSU continues to offer scholarship support from both the university and the Foundation for students. SMSU also is a part of the North Star Promise, which is a tuition-assistance program open to all Minnesota-resident students with a family income below $80,000 to help cover tuition costs.