April 26, 2005

Purdue offers second opportunity for public input on fees

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue officials will offer a second opportunity on May 19 for the public to offer comments on the tuition and mandatory fees to be paid by students attending any of the university's campuses during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 academic years.

The public hearing will take place at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, May 19, in the Library Building's Assembly Hall on the Purdue North Central campus, Westville, Ind. The hearing will be held in conjunction with a meeting of the Finance Committee of the university's board of trustees. A previous hearing to gather public input took place Friday (April 22) on Purdue's West Lafayette, Ind., campus.

"When our first hearing took place, there was no proposal on the table for what the student fee rates would be in the upcoming academic years," said Purdue President Martin C. Jischke. "By the time of the meeting at North Central, the Indiana General Assembly will have finalized its appropriations for higher education, meaning we will have a specific budget plan to address the needs of Purdue and its students. This should be a valuable opportunity for our students, their families and other interested parties to comment on the tuition and fee proposal before it goes to the full board of trustees."

The Finance Committee is scheduled to review the tuition and fee proposal on May 19, followed by consideration by the board of trustees on May 20.

Unlike the April 22 hearing, the May 19 meeting will not be available to other Purdue campuses via videoconference connection. Those not able to attend the meeting in person, however, may still submit written comments.

To facilitate scheduling, those planning to speak in person at the Purdue North Central hearing should notify the Office of the Board of Trustees in advance at (765) 494-9710 or trustees@purdue.edu. Written comments also may be submitted via e-mail or can be sent to Office of the Board of Trustees, Hovde Hall, 610 Purdue Mall, West Lafayette, IN 47907.

Each speaker will be allotted five minutes to make comments at the meeting.

Purdue's systemwide general fund budget for 2004-05 is $851.2 million. Student fees account for 53 percent of the general fund, while the remainder comes from other sources, including about 39 percent from state appropriations.

Writer: Brian Zink, (765) 494-2080, bzink@purdue.edu

Source: Martin C. Jischke, (765) 494-9708

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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