As a new academic year begins on college campuses across the country, students and families are considering one of the most important investments they will ever make: a college education. And many are asking an important question: Is it worth it?
That question arises amid a national narrative that increasingly portrays higher education as too expensive, out of reach and no longer worth the investment. Those concerns deserve to be taken seriously. But when that narrative is fueled by incomplete comparisons, inaccurate information or broad claims that simply do not match the facts, it does a disservice to the students and families trying to make informed decisions about their futures.
Recent reporting about college tuition claimed that tuition is increasing faster than inflation. That is simply not the case at the University of Tennessee. Over the past five years, average increases in undergraduate tuition and mandatory fees across our campuses have remained modest. For 2026-27, the approved increases range from approximately 1% at UT Knoxville to 3% at UT Chattanooga, UT Martin and UT Southern, continuing our focus on keeping a UT education within reach. The five-year averages are similarly below inflation, ranging from 1% to 2.6%.
Facts matter, particularly when students and families are making decisions that can shape the course of their lives.
Affordability matters, too. Universities have a responsibility to keep higher education within reach, and we should be held accountable for doing so. But the national conversation has become so focused on what college costs that we risk losing sight of the other side of the equation: what students receive in return.