The Office of Financial Aid at Butler University gives options for students affected by increased tuition. Photo by Johnathan Wang.
JULIA VERES | STAFF REPORTER | jveres@butler.edu
Butler University will be increasing tuition rates for the 2025-26 school year. On Jan. 13, Butler students and families received an email announcing the increase in tuition for all students; tuition will increase from $46,570 to $48,900 a year for full-time students.
For university administration, the decision to increase tuition seemed to be the only correct verdict.
Bruce Arick, the vice president for finance and administration, explained why the university felt this decision needed to be made.
“As we go into this time of year we look at a combination of factors,” Arick said. “When you price tuition at a university it’s a combination of how your costs are growing and then what will the market bear?”
In order to decide tuition rates, universities need to look at a variety of factors such as how much it costs to run the university, where other similar universities are placing their tuition and the economy. A large and relatively new worry of higher education is how inflation affects universities’ operating costs and program upkeep.
“The increase will also go towards all our academic programs, whether they are existing or new like the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program,” Arick said.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States had multiple decades of lower and stable inflation. The pandemic caused a major increase in inflation that has died down slightly since 2022 but still poses an issue in 2025.
“[Inflation] is not a new concept,” Arick said. “I have been in the role for 27 years and inflation historically has not been a significant factor. In the last three or four years, as we came out of [the COVID-19 pandemic], inflation has become a much bigger factor that any organization has to factor, and it has certainly hit higher education and Butler.”
When inflation gradually progressed, universities were able to adjust their spending based on the predictable earnings of their investments. The drastic increase in inflation post the COVID-19 pandemic drives investments down, meaning universities have to increase costs to be able to operate.
The inflation increase also affects the amount that students have to pay for higher education. Higher inflation leads to higher costs for students when it comes to affording necessities like food and transportation. Inflation rates also determine how expensive loans are to take out as well as students’ financial aid.
Hana Craig, a sophomore organizational communication and leadership major, can understand why Butler increased tuition but worries about what it means for students in higher education.
“I get increasing tuition to a certain point but it really sucks,” Craig said. “I have been taking out loans and now I’m trying to work as well as being a full-time student. It’s very overwhelming by itself and then adding additional cost is making it even more overwhelming as classes get harder. It’s pretty tiring.”
Melissa Smurdon, the executive director of financial aid, is aware of the struggles that this increase puts on Butler students. The university increases tuition in order to maintain the quality of education according to Smurdon. Smurdon is aware that any increase in tuition has an impact on students and families.
“We are sensitive to the fact that students and families face different financial conditions,” Smurdon said in an email to The Butler Collegian. “Financial aid is typically awarded for merit, like academic achievement or talent, or based on financial need. Merit aid is typically not indexed to match tuition increases. Review is underway for how we can best assist students with high levels of financial need for 2025-26.”
While the university will look at what they can do to assist students with high financial need, Smurdon encourages students to look for other opportunities to aid them. Websites like College Board, CollegeNet, Fastweb and Scholarships.com provide scholarships that students can apply for.
“Additionally, every student has an assigned financial aid counselor here to assist them,” Smurdon said. “While financial options are sometimes limited, we want to make sure you can make informed decisions. You can stop by Robertson Hall lower level or email finaid@butler.edu if you do not yet know your counselor.”
Butler’s decision to raise tuition highlights the financial difficulties that higher education is facing. The rate of inflation affects a university’s ability to operate its campuses. The university will need to continue to evaluate how this will affect the campus and its students.