LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) _ Students at the University of Nebraska will pay more in tuition over the next two years after the university’s Board of Regents voted to end a two-year freeze on in-state tuition.

The Lincoln Journal Star reports (http://bit.ly/1G1MfCk ) that the board approved tuition hikes of 1.75 percent increase in tuition in 2015-16 and a 2.5 percent increase in 2016-17.

The increase will add about $3.50 per credit hour to tuition bills next year and $5 per credit hour the year after that.

NU President Hank Bounds told the regents that the tuition increases still keep the Nebraska university system’s costs below its peer institutions and fulfill the priorities of keeping the university affordable.