COLUMBIA — The UM System Board of Curators voted Thursday to raise the prices of housing and dining plans again at all four of its universities.
The price of the predominant housing and dining plan at the University of Missouri is set to rise 5.2% or $677, to $13,807 starting in fiscal year 2027. The university's fiscal year 2027 starts July 1, 2026.
Missouri University of Science and Technology's rate has the greatest percent change, with 5.4% or an increase of $653, to $12,740.
University of Missouri-Kansas City will see a 5% increase — a $646 increase to $13,567.
University of Missouri-St. Louis will see a 1.9% increase — a $240 increase to $12,716.
The board of curators met Thursday in Kansas City and unanimously approved the changes.
Ryan Rapp, executive vice president of finance and operations and MU chief financial officer, said there is some inflationary pressure to increase the cost of dining plans and, overall, the housing and dining rates “remain affordable and accessible for our students.”
"Our rates still remain below the public university national average," Rapp said. "For Mizzou, they’re similar to what you’re seeing in the SEC."
The board also raised housing and dining prices last year.
Elimination of the Fall 2026 Reading Day
The board unanimously approved revisions to the 2026-2027 academic calendar as part of the consent agenda.
Among the changes was the elimination of Reading Day, known by many students as "Stop Day," for the fall 2026 semester due to a calendar conflict.
Reading Day is a day without classes that falls on the final Friday of the semester, and its elimination for fall 2026 brings three campuses back into compliance with UM System rules after the Missouri General Assembly passed a law that makes Veterans Day a paid holiday for the UM System.
UM System rules require classes that meet on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to meet at least 43 times, and Tuesday and Thursday classes to meet at least 29 times. But with Veterans Day falling on a Wednesday this year, MU, Missouri S&T and UMSL would be missing a Monday, Wednesday and Friday class session.
That means that in the fall 2026 semester, classes would need to be held on what would traditionally be considered Reading Day to meet the requirements.
The MU Faculty Council passed the change in October 2025.
Fall Semester Start Date
The board's unanimous approval of the academic calendar changes also modified the fall semester start date.
The proposal changes the semester start date to the third Monday in August, which promotes year-to-year consistency, according to an executive summary for the changes.
UM System rules previously established the semester start date as the first Monday after Aug. 18, which resulted in some fall semesters starting in the third week of August and other starting in the fourth week.
Before the measure's approval, MU's 2026 fall schedule was set to begin on Aug. 24, the fourth Monday in August, with the week of final exams ending Dec. 18.
The measure directs each university to set semester end dates to allow for 15 weeks of instruction, with each university making its own final exam schedule.
MU spokesperson Christopher Ave confirmed that MU's finals week constitutes a 16th week after the 15 weeks of instruction.
