Indiana's 15 public colleges and universities are holding in-state undergraduate tuition and mandatory fees flat for the second consecutive academic year, marking the first time in the state's history that every public campus system has aligned on a two-year freeze. The move means in-state students returning to campuses this fall — from Indiana University Bloomington to Vincennes University — will pay no more than they did during the 2025-26 school year.
According to WIBC 93.1 FM, the freeze for the 2026-27 academic year matches the one implemented last year and covers every public institution in the state, including main campuses like Purdue University West Lafayette and Ball State University alongside regional schools such as Indiana University Southeast, Indiana University Kokomo, Indiana University South Bend, Indiana University Northwest, Indiana University East, Indiana University Indianapolis, Purdue University Fort Wayne, and Purdue University Northwest. Community college giant Ivy Tech Community College, the University of Southern Indiana, and Indiana State University round out the list of 15 institutions complying with the 0% tuition increase. Governor Mike Braun initiated the tuition-freeze policy and asked state institutions to cut administrative redundancies and streamline operations as part of the effort.
The Indiana Commission for Higher Education unanimously endorsed the tuition-freeze measure, a step required under Indiana Code 21-14-2-12.5, which directs the commission to issue non-binding tuition and fee recommendations within 30 days of state budget enactment, according to The Hamilton County Reporter. That 2025 recommendation marked the first time the commission had unanimously backed a 0% tuition growth rate across all public campuses. Per Braun, the initiative preserves educational quality while ensuring Hoosier families receive maximum value for their higher education investments.
A Freeze Years in the Making at Purdue
The statewide alignment builds on a policy Purdue University West Lafayette had already been running on its own. The West Lafayette campus extended its independent tuition freeze to a 14th consecutive academic year for 2026-27, keeping base in-state undergraduate tuition at $9,992 per year — the same figure it has charged since 2013, according to Purdue University. That model was originally launched under former Indiana Governor and Purdue President Mitch Daniels, giving the statewide effort a template that predates Braun's request by more than a decade.
Ivy Tech Community College, the state's largest postsecondary institution with more than 200,000 students statewide, capped full-time in-state undergraduate tuition at $2,577.11 per semester, or $178.38 per credit hour, under the two-year freeze. The community college system also held its digital textbook program at $18.25 or less per credit hour, per the same institution's figures.
The Budget Pressure Behind the Freeze
The tuition freeze was requested alongside an across-the-board 5% budget reduction for state higher education funding enacted by the Indiana General Assembly, according to WFYI. That combination of flat tuition revenue and reduced state appropriations forced institutions to find savings elsewhere. Ivy Tech eliminated 202 staff and faculty positions across its statewide campus system in May 2025, as system leaders confronted a projected $54 million state revenue reduction over two years, the Indianapolis Business Journal reported.
Universities also shifted costs onto students outside the freeze's protection. Major schools raised tuition and fees on out-of-state, international, and graduate students for both the 2025-26 and 2026-27 school years to compensate for frozen in-state revenue, per Indiana Legislative Insight. Purdue added differential fees of up to $1,000 per semester for certain non-resident programs, while Indiana University raised out-of-state undergraduate tuition by 1%, according to the same outlet's reporting.
Why State Leaders Are Watching Enrollment
The freeze arrives as Indiana officials grapple with a decline in college-going among the state's own high school graduates. Indiana's high school college-going rate fell to under 52% for the class of 2023, continuing a multi-year slide from 65% in 2015, according to state figures reported by Indiana Public Radio. State leaders consider the drop a major risk to Indiana's future workforce.
Part of the problem may be perception rather than reality. A March 2025 study found that Indiana high school students and parents commonly overestimated the actual cost of public college tuition by more than 100%, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. Data from the Indiana Commission for Higher Education also shows that average student debt for Indiana residents graduating with a bachelor's degree from state institutions reached $28,521, a figure officials have cited in pushing to hold costs flat.
Hoodline previously covered Braun's initial freeze call last year, when all 15 public college systems first agreed to hold rates flat. This year's freeze confirms that alignment held for a second straight year, even as the financial pressure it created pushed institutions toward layoffs and higher charges for students who fall outside the freeze's protection.
-4.webp?w=160&h=400&fit=crop&crop=edges)
