URBANA — The University of Illinois Board of Trustees approved an $8.3 billion budget for the current fiscal year, representing a 6.2% increase from fiscal year 2024.
The U of I system reported another record year in student enrollment for the fall semester, with a systemwide total of 97,772 enrolled students at the universities in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago and Springfield. Ongoing priorities in meeting the needs of a growing student body include increases in faculty and other support, providing additional mental health resources, and continuing to enhance programs that keep students on track for graduation, according to a news release from the U of I system.
Technological improvements and significant facilities upgrade needs across the three campuses also are included in the budget.
The board’s vote today finalized the 2025 spending plan approved by the board in May, pending the Illinois General Assembly’s approval of the state budget. The state’s spending plan included a $710.6 million allocation for the system in the fiscal year that began July 1, a 1.8% increase from fiscal year 2024.
“The University of Illinois System and our three universities are contributing to the state economy on a number of levels, and we are partnering with government, industry and the nonprofit sector to enhance our efforts to the benefit of every Illinois citizen,” U of I System President Tim Killeen said in a statement. “We are committed to providing a world-class education to state residents.”
The U of I System has frozen undergraduate tuition for students who are residents of Illinois in seven of the past 10 years and also increased financial aid by more than $108 million in the past decade to its current level of $283 million a year.
Two-thirds of system undergraduate students receive financial aid and more than half of undergraduates pay tuition of less than $3,000 per semester.