Fordham University announced a 4.5% tuition increase and a 3.0% increase to meal plan and average room fees for the 2026–27 academic year in a university-wide email from Chief Financial Officer Tokumbo Shobowale on April 9.
The university raised tuition by around 4% during the spring semesters of the last several years, most recently increasing by 4.65% last academic year.
In the email, Shobowale cited inflation pushing operational costs up as the primary reason for the increase.
He added that “Fordham will increase financial aid for those with the biggest need.” Shobowale said that the increase is already reflected in the incoming class of 2030’s financial aid packages.
In a student press conference on April 7, University President Tania Tetlow announced the tuition increase to The Ram and The Observer. She, too, pointed to inflation as a driving force behind the increase and reaffirmed that financial aid is the number one priority in Fordham’s budget.
“The inflation that hits you and your families also hits Fordham,” Tetlow said. “It is our moral obligation to be as efficient and frugal as possible so that every penny that you spend in tuition is spent in a way that is valuable to your education.”
Shobowale referenced recent budgetary measures taken by the university — including cutting “discretionary spending” by 10% and instituting a hiring restriction — as administrative efforts to improve efficiency and mitigate costs prior to making the decision to raise tuition.
