GVSU sets tuition, room, board rates for 2025-2026

Grand Valley State's Board of Trustees on April 25 approved tuition and room and board rates for 2025-2026, maintaining the university’s position as one of the state’s best values in higher education.

The university's board approved tuition and fee increases of 4.7%. Housing and dining costs will rise by 4.6%. The Grand Valley cost for a residential undergraduate student remains in the bottom quarter of Michigan public universities.

Financial aid is expected to grow to more than $80 million for the coming fiscal year, according to preliminary budget figures. Being among the first state universities to set tuition, room and board for the coming year was intended to provide students and supporters with more certainty about the cost of attending.

University leaders said the value of a Grand Valley education continues to be strong for students and ultimately for the state as GVSU graduates overwhelmingly stay in Michigan to help move it forward.

That impact for Michigan was detailed by the Upjohn Institute, which found that for every $100,000 spent in state appropriations , GVSU retains nearly five graduates, far outpacing the next Michigan public university and tops in the nation.

President Philomena V. Mantella noted regional universities such as Grand Valley educate nearly 70% of the students attending public four-year universities, and GVSU – which stands out as a leader for student outcomes and impact on communities – continues to embrace an education that produces "real impact for students of all ages, backgrounds and zip codes."

"Our work, educating and empowering our students and contributing to our community vitality, is more relevant than ever before," Mantella said. "By focusing on who we are, we will not only sustain our relevance, we'll magnify it."

Board Chair Beth Emmitt said the time has come for the state to balance the funding scales in a way that reflects the demonstrated success of GVSU.

"Despite the success of our programs and our students, despite our growth, per-student state funding at GVSU remains substantially lower than almost all of our peer institutions — in some cases less than half,” Emmitt said. “It is long past time for a state funding formula that recognizes Grand Valley's contributions to building a rich pool of next-generation Michigan entrepreneurs and skilled Michigan workers who stay in our state, pay taxes and build our economy."

Grand Valley remains in the top quarter of public universities for standards such as completion rates and job-placement rates and offers a return on investment through career-connected programs that emphasize both innovation and interdisciplinary learning. Connections to employers is a hallmark of GVSU, from the Blue Dot initiative's collaboration with industry leaders to understand their workforce needs to the Corewell Health West Nurse Scholars program , a unique partnership to address the nursing shortage.

In other Board news:

Trustees approved new undergraduate programs for climate science and for environmental science as well as undergraduate and graduate programs in human-centered computing.