Purdue News
Purdue News
Under the new rate schedule, students living on campus will have a variety of options, but the average undergraduate will pay $4,348 for the year for a room and 15 meals a week, an increase of $171.
Frederick R. Ford, executive vice president and treasurer, said the increases can be attributed to increasing costs of food, wages and utilities. "The impending increase in the minimum wage has caused us to project an 8 percent increase for student wages, and our best estimate is that food costs will increase about 4.5 percent," he said. "Facility repair and renovation costs also are going up. Other operation costs will be incurred because of supply cost increases and raises granted to deserving staff.
"Purdue's housing and food service system is one of the best-managed operations in the country and will continue to be a great bargain for our students. The proposed rates, when adjusted for inflation, are the same as those paid by students in 1969."
Students living in undergraduate housing again will be able to choose from three meal plans: 20, 15 or 10 meals a week. Purdue began offering three meal plans in the fall of 1996. In addition to the meals, students will be able to use credits deposited by Purdue in their dining dollar accounts, said John A. Sautter, vice president for housing and food service. "During one of our quality assessment surveys, students said they wanted more control over how they use their meal plans, more convenience built into the plans, and greater flexibility in the use of their money," Sautter said. The dining dollars accounts may be used to purchase additional meals or items from the residence hall grill operations.
The average undergraduate room with the 20-meal-per-week plan will cost $4,556 for the year. Under the 15-meal-per-week plan, the rate will average $4,348. Under the 10-meal-per-week plan, the rate will average $4,140. The rates will affect about 10,000 students in Purdue's 12 undergraduate halls, starting Aug. 11.
All undergraduate rates include telephone with call-waiting and voice mail, cable television hookup in each room and access to Purdue's central computing network in many rooms and through all hall computer labs, Sautter said.
Effective Aug. 11, rates for the Hawkins and Young graduate houses will range from $2,434 to $4,627 annually, with the average rate being $2,921. The rate includes utilities, telephone with call waiting and voice mail, cable television hookup and air conditioning. Student living in graduate houses do not have board contracts with the university.
University residences are self-supporting. No state funds are involved in their operation.
Sources: Frederick R. Ford (765) 494-9705
John A. Sautter, (765) 494-1000; e-mail, jasautter@smly-01.hfs.purdue.edu
Writer: J. Michael Willis, (765) 494-0371; e-mail, mike_willis@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu
