Indianapolis, Indiana – Indiana’s public college students are beginning another academic year with one major cost staying exactly where it was. For the second year in a row, tuition and mandatory fees for in-state undergraduates will not increase at any of the state’s public colleges and universities.
The statewide freeze, requested by Gov. Mike Braun, now covers the 2026-27 academic year after first taking effect in 2025-26. It reaches all 15 public institutions, including their main and regional campuses, making it the first time Indiana has kept tuition and mandatory fees flat across its entire public higher education system for two consecutive years.
“Hoosier students are returning to campus with tuition frozen at every public college and university in Indiana for the second year. Indiana’s public institutions answered my call to find efficiencies and put students and their families first. In Indiana, your higher education dollar stretches further,” Braun said.
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The policy began with a request from the governor for colleges and universities to look inward before asking students to pay more. Institutions were urged to find efficiencies, remove unnecessary duplication and streamline services while maintaining the quality of education.
Every public institution agreed to a 0% increase in tuition and mandatory fees for in-state undergraduate students for two straight academic years. The Indiana Commission for Higher Education also unanimously endorsed Braun’s recommendation.
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The freeze applies across a broad mix of campuses. It includes Ball State University, Indiana State University, Ivy Tech Community College, the University of Southern Indiana and Vincennes University.
Indiana University campuses covered by the freeze include Bloomington, East, Indianapolis, Kokomo, Northwest, South Bend and Southeast. Indiana University Indianapolis also includes IU Fort Wayne and IU Columbus.
Purdue University’s West Lafayette campus is included as well, along with Purdue Fort Wayne and Purdue Northwest.
For students and families, the practical result is straightforward: the base tuition and mandatory fee levels charged to in-state undergraduates at these public institutions will remain unchanged for another year.
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The administration has framed the move as part of a broader push to make higher education more affordable without lowering academic standards. Rather than relying on tuition increases, public institutions were asked to control costs through internal changes and more efficient operations.
With the second year of the freeze now underway, Indiana’s public colleges and universities are entering the new academic year under the same commitment they made a year earlier — no increase in tuition or mandatory fees for resident undergraduate students.
