Purdue trustees approve tuition freeze for West Lafayette

Executive committee also approves system-wide tuition, conceptual operating budget

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Executive Committee of Purdue University’s Board of Trustees on Wednesday (May 27) approved a tuition freeze for the West Lafayette campus through the 2016-17 academic year. The approval marks four consecutive years of no change in base tuition after an increase in each of the 36 previous years.

During the meeting, the Executive Committee also approved tuition and fees for Purdue’s system-wide campuses for 2015-16 and 2016-17 as well as the conceptual general fund operating budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

Acting on behalf of the full board, the executive committee held a public hearing on proposed tuition and fees to be paid by students attending any of the university's campuses during the 2015-16 and 2016-17 academic years. Following the hearing, board members approved the tuition and fee proposals.

At the West Lafayette campus, tuition and fees will remain $10,002 for resident students and $28,804 for out-of-state students. International students enrolled in summer 2012 or after will pay $30,804.

Several fees at Purdue’s West Lafayette campus have remained flat or were eliminated, including overall flat rates on meal plans and student housing for the 2015-16 academic year. In addition, the $200 fee for credit-bearing internship/co-op/industrial practice has been eliminated.

New in the 2015-16 academic year is a computer science differential fee for “new to campus” students. The per-year fee is equal to the existing engineering differential fee of $2,050 for undergraduate students and $1,124 for graduate students. Current students are exempt from the fee.

Three previously approved fees have been instituted for the system-wide Doctor of Nursing Practice program: $725 per credit hour for Indiana residents, $950 per credit hour for nonresidents and $100 per credit hour for up to six residency/practical courses.

Purdue's tuition and fees currently rank fourth lowest out of 13 public Big Ten universities for resident undergraduates and seventh for nonresident students.

Tuition at Purdue’s regional campuses follow the Indiana Commission for Higher Education’s recommended increase of up to 1.65 percent for the 2015-16 academic year, except at Purdue North Central. Tuition at the Westville, Indiana, campus will increase only 0.4 percent in order to align its tuition with Purdue Calumet in anticipation of the formation of Purdue Northwest. In 2016-17, Purdue’s regional campuses (Purdue Northwest and Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne) will increase tuition 1.65 percent.

Fees for students at Purdue’s regional campuses are assessed on a per-credit-hour basis. The rates for resident and nonresident undergraduate students, respectively, are:

* Purdue Calumet – $245.30 and $554.15 in 2015-16.

* Purdue North Central – $245.25 and $583.85 in 2015-16.

* Purdue Northwest – $249.25 and $563.15 in 2016-17.

* IPFW – $269.30 and $646.90 in 2015-16, $273.75 and $657.55 in 2016-17.

In addition, the regional campuses will implement differential fees for the STEM programs of business, engineering, nursing and technology beginning with the 2015-16 academic year for IPFW and the 2016-17 academic year for Purdue Northwest. The IPFW differential fees will be course-assessed per credit hour for all students, while the Purdue Northwest differential fees will be assessed to “new to campus” students on a per semester basis.

The conceptual general fund operating budget for fiscal 2016 supports education and operating expenditures and is based on operating appropriations contained in the state’s 2015-17 biennial spending plan. Trustees approved an operating budget of $1.045 billion for West Lafayette; $86.7 million for Purdue Calumet; $36.6 million for Purdue North Central and $111.5 million for Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne.

The operating budget provides for a 3.5 percent merit pay increase for faculty and staff at West Lafayette, an increase in entry-level wages to $10 per hour for benefits-eligible clerical and service staff, and focuses on investment in programs aimed at improving the academic experience.

Additional details on the conceptual budget can be found at http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2015/Q2/purdue-officials-propose-tuition-freeze-for-fourth-straight-year,-3.5-percent-merit-pay-increase.html.