Rising costs driven by labor, inflation and historic disinvestment in higher education by the Oregon Legislature

The average inflation-adjusted cost of undergraduate tuition for Oregon residents at the state’s seven public universities next year will be nearly 30% higher than it was a decade ago, following increases being considered or adopted by every university board for the next school year.

The state’s seven public universities — Eastern Oregon University, Oregon State University, Oregon Institute of Technology, Portland State University, Southern Oregon University, University of Oregon and Western Oregon University — are all slated to raise tuition by 3% to 5% for the 2025-26 school year. This comes on top of increases at every university, every year, for the last decade.

Any resident tuition increases above 5%, including mandatory fees such as student health fees, require that the universities’ boards get approval from the Higher Education Coordinating Commission. The commission’s executive director, Ben Cannon, said in an email the commission doesn’t expect tuition increase proposals over 5% based on information it received from the universities.

“However, even smaller increases compound onto years of steady increases in college costs in Oregon, and we continue to be very concerned about financially struggling students and families being priced out of a postsecondary education,” Cannon said.

The increases are driven by labor costs and inflation that’s touched everything from teaching materials to utility costs and insurance, according to university spokespersons. Cannon added that insufficient levels of state investment are also driving up the costs of enrollment.

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek is recommending a 6.4% increase in higher education funding for the next two years, including an additional $25 million increase for Oregon Opportunity Grants, the state’s needs-based financial aid program, Cannon said.

Oregon ranks 32nd among states for public investment in higher education, according to the Colorado-based policy group State Higher Education Executive Officers Association.

At every Oregon university, student tuition and fees make up more than half of revenue, one of the highest proportions in the nation, according to a 2022 report commissioned by lawmakers from the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, a nonprofit think tank in Colorado. About 25 years ago, public funding accounted for up to 75% of the cost of each full-time employee at an Oregon university. Now, it pays for about 50% or less, researchers found. Oregon’s per-pupil funding for full-time college students was found to be about $3,000 less than what California and Washington provide per student.

Oregon State University

The Board of Trustees at Oregon’s largest public university by enrollment approved a 5.3% tuition increase for new resident and nonresident undergrads and a 4.8% tuition hike for returning undergrads. This won’t require review by the Higher Education Coordinating Commission because, when taken with student fees, the complete increase in sticker price won’t exceed 5%.

Tuition will increase nearly 5% for students newly enrolled in Oregon State’s online degree programs. Students will also pay higher fees for psychological and student health services at OSU’s Corvallis and Bend campuses.

About 50% of Oregon State University students are from out of state, and they pay nearly three times as much for tuition as Oregon residents. Resident undergraduates attending full-time in Corvallis will pay more than $15,000 and students in Bend will pay about $14,300. Out-of-state undergraduates will pay about $40,000 for the 2025-26 school year.

University of Oregon

The University of Oregon Trustees voted to approve a 3.75% tuition increase for resident freshmen enrolled in the fall of 2025 and a 3.25% increase for nonresident freshmen.

Tuition at the university in Eugene is locked in for five years for each incoming class of freshman, so that students pay the same tuition for the first five years. Students enrolling full time in the fall of 2025 will pay $16,754 in tuition and fees. That’s up from about $16,100 that freshmen who enrolled last year paid.

Nonresident students enrolling at the University of Oregon in the fall will pay more than $43,000 per year for their degrees, without accounting for other fees. About half of all students at the University of Oregon are from out of state.

Portland State University

Resident, nonresident, undergraduate and graduate students at Portland State University this fall will see all tuition rise by about 5%.

That means a full-time resident undergrad at Portland State University will pay about $12,300 per year in tuition and fees, an increase of more than $2,700 in the last six years, or about 29%.

Oregon Institute of Technology

Oregon Tech’s Tuition Recommendation Committee proposed a 4% tuition increase for 2025 if the Legislature approves Kotek’s full request for higher education spending. If the Legislature approves less funding than Kotek recommended, the committee will adopt a 4.5% tuition increase, Ashley VanEssen, a university spokesperson, said in an email.

A 4% increase would raise tuition, not including fees, by about $500 each year for students at the university, with campuses Klamath Falls and Portland.

Southern Oregon University

Southern Oregon University in Ashland approved a tuition hike that hits just below the state’s threshold for review. The university’s board greenlit a tuition and enrollment fee increase of 4.99% for resident and nonresident undergrads.

That means that in-state full-time students will pay more than $11,500 a year in tuition and fees in 2025, and nonresident students will pay more than $31,500 per year.

Western Oregon University

Resident undergrads at Western Oregon University in Monmouth, about 16 miles west of Salem, will pay nearly 4.7% more for tuition in 2025 than 2024, and nonresident undergrads will pay about 1.6% more than they did last year. Health services fees and business fees will also rise.

Western offers the state’s second lowest price point for undergraduate tuition at about $11,500 per year in tuition and fees. The approved increases will bring tuition up about $470 per year.

Eastern Oregon University

Students enrolled at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande will see a tuition hike in the next school year, though it won’t exceed 5%, according to Tim Seydel, a university spokesperson.

The school’s Tuition Advisory Committee has not settled on a number but will recommend that the Board of Trustees vote on 2025-26 tuition at their May meeting, Seydel said in an email. The school currently offers the lowest undergraduate tuition of any Oregon public university, about $11,000 for tuition and fees per year for Oregon residents enrolled full time.

“We want to keep increases low and reasonable and are hopeful that the Oregon Legislature will invest in the state’s public universities to help mitigate rising costs,” Seydel said.