This edition of WICHE Insights provides a regional perspective of key trends in higher education financing in the West, including tuition and fees, state appropriations, and state financial aid. Additionally, the report highlights the impact of recent enrollment trends and the potential effects of changes in the federal policy landscape on state finance policy. Trends and highlights from the report include:

• Resident undergraduate tuition and fees at public four-year institutions average $11,693 in AY 2025-26, an increase of 4.2% compared to the year prior. When adjusted for inflation, average tuition and fees at public four-year institutions in the region increased 0.9% between AY 2024-25 and AY 2025-26. Average in-district tuition and fees at public two-year institutions (excluding California) are $4,775 in AY 2025-26, an increase of 3.3% from AY 2024-25, and when adjusted for inflation, average tuition and fees increased 0.1% in the past year at public two-year institutions. When including California, tuition and fees for in-district students at two-year institutions average $2,451 in AY 2025-26, an increase of 2.0% from AY 2024-25 (current dollars).
• While much public discussion on the value of higher education has focused on costs of college, it is worth noting that after adjusting for inflation, tuition and fees at public institutions in the West has decreased over the last 10 years for both two-year and four-year institutions.
• Recent state appropriations data from the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association’s (SHEEO) Grapevine Report on State Fiscal Support for Higher Education shows that nationwide, state fiscal support for higher education reached $133 billion in FY 2026, a 0.9% increase compared to FY 2025. State fiscal support in the WICHE region grew at a slightly higher rate than the national average, reaching $38 billion in FY 2026, a 1.1% increase from FY 2025.
• According to SHEEO’s recently released State Higher Education Finance report, FY 2025 state appropriations per student in the WICHE region averaged $11,767, an increase of 0.4% from the previous year. Although the total amount is slightly lower than the national average, FY 2025 state appropriations per student nationwide averaged $12,082, a 1.0% decrease from the previous year, marking the first per-student funding decrease since FY 2012.
• The most recent National Association of State Student Grant Aid Programs survey found that in AY 2023-24, total state grant aid in the WICHE region averaged $1,371 per undergraduate student. Of this, $1,265 was need-based aid, and just $106 was non-need-based aid.