Purdue News
Purdue News
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March 23, 1998
Purdue trustees review conceptual budget, student feesWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- A Purdue University trustee committee today (Monday, 3/23) recommended a 1998-99 university conceptual budget plan that would increase basic student fees 4.9 percent on the West Lafayette campus and 4 percent on regional campuses.The Finance Committee of the Board of Trustees also recommended that the technology fee paid by West Lafayette students increase from $32 to $64 a year. The fee proposal also includes a new $200 annual fee for students in the Schools of Engineering on the West Lafayette campus. The conceptual budget plan and final action on new student fees will be on the agenda when the Purdue Board of Trustees meets Friday, March 27. "This proposal is a first step toward addressing quality issues that go to the heart of the university's mission," President Steven C. Beering said. "The highly competitive environment in which Purdue functions demands a level of resources that requires increased support from both our students and the state. In recent years, Purdue's state appropriation has declined relative to our peer institutions in other states. At the same time, our fees remain among the lowest in the Big Ten. Although we have worked hard to achieve more with less, the costs of innovation and technology keep growing. This problem is real and immediate. If we fail to address it, the university will decline in quality, and our students will suffer the consequences. "Currently, among Big Ten universities, Purdue stands dead last in the revenues available for each student. Our sister institution, Indiana University, ranks next to last. The University of Michigan spends almost twice as much on each of its students as Purdue does. Unless we are willing to have our university become something less than a first-class institution, we must reverse the current trend through increases in state support and by asking our students to pay fees that are competitive." Beering said the highest priorities in the proposed budget will be ongoing support for technology that supports teaching and competitive faculty salaries. "Both the increase in the technology fee paid by all students and the new differential fee for the Schools of Engineering will address the need for state-of-the-art laboratory equipment and the technical staff to maintain it," the president said. "It has always cost more to educate a student in engineering than in most other disciplines, but the gap has now grown too wide to be supported by the rest of the institution. The additional money paid by engineering students will go directly into the Schools of Engineering budget to address critical quality issues, and the cost of their education will remain a great bargain. The majority of Purdue's graduates in engineering earn more in their first year after graduation than they have spent for their entire university education." Under the proposed new fees, Purdue West Lafayette students from Indiana will pay a total of $196 more to attend Purdue for a year. The figure includes a $164 increase in basic fees and the additional $32 in the technology fee. Engineering students would also pay the $200 differential fee. Technology fees at the other Big Ten universities range between $68 and $330. Of the eight other Big Ten public institutions that offer engineering, seven charge supplemental fees, ranging from $228 to $919 a year. Starting next fall, basic fees for Purdue West Lafayette students would increase to $3,500 a year if trustees approve the proposal. Those from out of state would pay $11,720, an increase of $552. "We anticipate these fee increases will be offset significantly by increases in financial aid for our students and newly approved federal tax credits for their parents," Beering said. Within the Big 10, Purdue would remain in eighth place for in-state student fees and sixth for out-of-state student fees, Frederick R. Ford, executive vice president and treasurer, said. Ford pointed out that state appropriation and student fees combined add up to $20,468 per student at the University of Michigan. For Purdue and IU, he said, the comparable figures are $10,737 and $11,888. Fees for students on Purdue's campuses in Hammond and Westville and in the university's Statewide Technology program will go up by about 4 percent. At Purdue Calumet and Purdue North Central, the new undergraduate fees will be $94.25 per credit hour, up $3.75 for in-state students. Statewide Technology students from Indiana will pay $93.65 per credit hour, up from $90.05. At Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, the new charge per undergraduate credit hour will be $101.50, up from $97.60 for in-state students or a 4 percent increase. While fees are going up, so is financial aid available to students, said Joyce Hall, director of financial aid at Purdue. More than half of all Purdue students receive some form of financial aid.
Perkins and Purdue loans, as well as subsidized Stafford loans, are awarded based on financial need, while the unsubsidized Stafford loans are not. The Finance Committee's recommendation will be considered by the Board of Trustees on Friday (3/27). At that meeting the board will be asked to take final action on the student fee proposal and to approve the conceptual budget plan. Final action on the university budget for the 1998-99 fiscal year is scheduled for the board's May 29 meeting. Purdue's West Lafayette campus general fund budget, which was $423 million for 1997-98, is expected to grow to more than $447 million for 1998-1999. The general fund budget for the entire Purdue system, now $543 million, is expected to increase to $572 million. Purdue's overall operating budget is made up of the general fund budget; foundation support; federal and industrial research grants; gifts; student aid; and income from self-supporting auxiliary enterprises such as housing and food services, intercollegiate athletics and other service enterprises.
Sources: Kenneth P. Burns, vice president for
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