INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana students returning to college this fall are getting another year without an increase in tuition and mandatory fees at the state’s public colleges and universities. For the second consecutive academic year, all 15 of Indiana’s public higher education institutions are hold ing tuition and mandatory fees at 0% increases for in-state undergraduate students, continuing a statewide initiative championed by Gov. Mike Braun. The freeze applies throughout the 2026-27 academic year and includes main and regional campuses. Braun said the policy is intended to make higher education more affordable while encouraging public institutions to find ways to operate more efficiently, “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.” The tuition freeze began during the 2025-26 academic year after Braun called on Indiana’s public colleges and universities to identify efficiencies, eliminate redundancies and streamline services without sacrificing the quality of education. All 15 institutions responded by committing to keep tuition and mandatory fees flat for in-state undergraduate students for two consecutive academic years. The Indiana Commission for Higher Education unanimously endorsed Braun’s recommendation. State officials say the two-year freeze represents the first time in Indiana history that every public higher education institution has simultaneously held tuition and mandatory fees flat for two consecutive years. The policy covers a broad range of public higher education options, from major research universities to regional campuses and community colleges. The 15 institutions covered by the freeze are: Ball State University Indiana State University Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University East Indiana University Indianapolis Indiana University Kokomo Indiana University Northwest Indiana University South Bend Indiana University Southeast Ivy Tech Community College Purdue University West Lafayette Purdue University Fort Wayne Purdue University Northwest University of Southern Indiana Vincennes University The freeze applies specifically to in-state undergraduate students and covers tuition and mandatory fees. It does not mean that every cost associated with attending college is frozen. Students can still face other expenses, including housing, meal plans, books, transportation and personal costs. Individual institutions may also have charges that fall outside the tuition-and-mandatory-fee freeze. Braun’s administration has framed the initiative as part of a broader effort to control the cost of higher education for Indiana families. The governor’s call to the state’s public institutions was not simply to freeze tuition but to find operational efficiencies that could help make the freeze possible while maintaining academic quality. With the freeze now entering its second year, students across Indiana are returning to campuses knowing that the basic tuition and mandatory-fee rates for eligible in-state undergraduates will remain unchanged from the previous academic year. For families planning for college expenses, the continued freeze provides a measure of predictability at a time when the overall cost of attending college can extend well beyond tuition. The 2026-27 academic year marks the second consecutive year of the statewide policy and, according to the governor’s office, establishes a first in Indiana’s public higher education system: every state public college and university maintaining the same tuition and mandatory-fee rates for in-state undergraduate students for two straight years. The post Gov. Mike Braun Announces Second Year of Tuition Freeze at Indiana Public Universities appeared first on WOWO News/Talk 92.3 FM and 1190 AM. ...read more read less