MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas (KXXV) — Baylor's Board of Regents approved a tuition increase that will push costs past $67,000 as the university simultaneously cuts $35 million from its operating budget.
- Baylor University's Board of Regents approved a tuition increase, pushing costs to $67,756 for the upcoming school year — a $4,136 increase over last year
- Baylor University President Linda Livingstone said $3.8 million from the increase will go toward financial aid, and 90% of students will not pay the full sticker price
- The tuition increase comes as the university cuts $35 million from its operating budget over the next two years and reduces faculty and staff retirement contributions from 10.8% to 8%.
- The Baylor Board of Regents also flagged a major capital expense on the horizon — the Baylor Energy Complex — set to begin construction in 2028, with costs projected to rise into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
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Baylor University students will pay more out of pocket next year after the Board of Regents approved a tuition increase. Students are now looking at spending $4,136 more than last school year, with tuition hitting $67,756.
"Higher education should not be something where we have to, you know, pull an arm, pull on a leg to be able to pay for it," said Charlotte Tran
In a meeting with Baylor University President Linda Livingstone, she said it is never an easy decision to increase tuition and fees. However, $3.8 million from the increase will go toward financial aid, and she said 90% of students will not pay the full sticker price.
"The median out-of-pocket price for a Baylor education, as compared to 7 years ago, has either remained constant or decreased for students and families with household incomes of $300,000 or less," Livingstone said. "We're really pleased with the efforts we've put in to help support students in those middle-income and lower-income brackets, even as we've increased tuition over those years."
Livingstone said that compared to other private schools, Baylor's tuition ranks on the lower end.
"We do a lot of benchmarking as we make these decisions, and if you compare our tuition to private schools at similar U.S. News & World Report-ranked institutions and across the private Power 4 schools. We are an incredible value, and our tuition really sits on the lower end, if not near the bottom, of both of those lists. And we were recently named Best Value College by the Princeton Review,"
For low-income students like Charlotte Tran, she said she receives a great deal of scholarship help, but it is her middle-class friends who are struggling.
"They don't get a lot of that, financial aid or scholarship, it's incredibly frustrating," Tran said. "They have to pay a lot more than I have to, which I am forever grateful about it, but it feels so unfair that they've worked hard."
The change comes as the university is cutting $35 million from its operating budget over the next two years. Students like Bry Barragan are hoping the money they are spending is invested back into their education.
"As long as that money is going towards things that we value, such as I don't know, like more parking spaces and things like that, that our students on campus are really in desperate need of, then I'm fine with a continuing rise as long as that comes right back to us," Barragan said.
Livingstone said as the university builds out its budget for next year, it will search for more ways to build in additional student financial aid.
The tuition increase is also affecting faculty and staff. The Board of Regents approved a reduction in the university's retirement contribution for faculty and staff from 10.8% to 8%, saying this will help lower the rate of future tuition increases.
"Based on these and other factors, we have decided to reduce the University’s retirement contribution toward faculty and staff to 8%, effective August 1, 2026. Even with this change, Baylor’s retirement package will continue to be highly competitive and among the top overall benefits programs in higher education." President Livingstone said in a statement.
The Baylor Board of Regents also noted the university has a large capital expense on the horizon — the Baylor Energy Complex — set to begin construction in 2028, with costs rising into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
"Our current energy system is outdated, environmentally wasteful and limiting our future growth. This is a generational investment – projected to be the largest in Baylor’s history – that will cost hundreds of millions of dollars over the next decade, but it is essential for our present and future campus infrastructure."
Livingstone also addressed concerns about athletics spending, saying, "There is no new institutional investment in Athletics built into the FY26-27 budget that is impacting tuition."
Barragan said the tuition increase adds pressure beyond just finances.
"It'll affect mostly like anxiety levels over keeping scholarships," Barragan said. "When tuition increases, it makes it ever much more important to make sure that we're maintaining that,"
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
