(KLZA)-- Nebraska State College System students will pay 3% more in tuition for the coming 2025-26 school year.

The State College Board of Trustees in June approved the increase for undergraduate and graduate students attending campuses in Peru, Wayne and Chadron along with the system's annual budget.

Resident and nonresident undergraduate students attending a state college full time will pay $201.90 per credit hour for the upcoming year, which is an increase from the $196 per credit hour cost last year.

Graduate students from Nebraska can expect to pay a little more than $252 per credit hour beginning in the fall 2025 semester. Last year, those students paid $245 per credit hour.

Nonresident graduate students will pay substantially more to attend the Nebraska State College System. The board set a $504.70 per credit hour tuition rate for those students, which is an increase from the $490 per credit hour cost last year.

Online students will pay 3% more in 2025-26.

This year's tuition hike will help the state college system fund salary increases for union and non-union faculty, staff and other employees.

Professional staff who are part of the union and have more than six years of service will receive a 3.5% pay raise this year, while those with fewer than six years will see their salaries rise by 3%.

Faculty and professional staff will receive a 3% pay increase, while support staff, both union and non-union, can expect a 2.75% boost in pay.

The State College Board of Trustees also approved a $202.8 million operating and auxiliary budget for the system's three campuses and its central office located in Lincoln.

The total increase in state funds amounts to a 3.16% bump for 2025-26.