The Tennessee Board of Regents approved tuition and fees for Academic Year 2025-26.
Combined tuition and mandatory fees will increase by an average of 3.25 percent at the Community Colleges and 3.26 percent at the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCATs), to fund a portion of operating cost increases due to inflation and the colleges’ share of a 2.6 percent salary increase recommended for state employees in the governor’s overall state budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2025-26.
The tuition increase is substantially under the 6.5 percent maximum increase authorized by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission. Most students qualify for tuition-free programs such as Tennessee Promise, Tennessee Reconnect, and other state and federal financial aid.
The new rates will be effective with the Fall term and will mean a $47 per trimester increase at the TCATs and an average $81.50 per semester increase at the Community Colleges for in-state residents taking a full course load of 15 credit hours. Students taking fewer credit hours would see a similar percentage increase on a credit-hour basis.
