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July 13, 2009

Executive Committee approves Purdue tuition plan, operating budget

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Executive Committee of the Purdue University board of trustees on Monday (July 13) approved tuition and fee rates for the next two academic years and a conceptual general fund operating budget for the current fiscal year.

Board chairman Keith Krach, vice chair Mamon Powers Jr. and trustees JoAnn Brouillette and Michael Birck voted unanimously to approve after listening to 10 students, graduate students and parents speak at a public hearing.

At the West Lafayette campus, resident students will pay an additional $388, and nonresident students' tuition will increase by $1,394. This translates into an increase of 5 percent for resident and 6 percent for nonresident continuing students each of the next two academic years.

There also will be a new $500 fee per academic year for new West Lafayette campus students tied to strategic plan improvements for academic programs. However, first-time Indiana undergraduate students will have this $500 fee rebated this year, using stimulus funding provided to Purdue by the General Assembly. Students enrolled prior to the summer of 2009 will not be assessed the fee. Funds generated by the proposed strategic plan fee will be used to invest in academic curricula, financial aid, student success programs, and assist in attracting and retaining top faculty.

The approved conceptual general fund budget - $1.1 billion system-wide for the current fiscal year - was drafted after the state approved its biennial spending plan.

"It was a hard decision, but a lot of thought went into it," Krach said. "We had to balance three major factors: preserving the quality of a Purdue education, staying competitive with our peer institutions given our tuition is among the lowest in the Big Ten, and making sure the organization was run responsibly and keeping costs low."

Purdue President France A. Córdova said, "As the students said at the hearing, the value of a Purdue degree can’t be matched, and we want to make it affordable for families, too. We are awarding more scholarships and financial aid than ever before. This year we launched a new scholarship directed at middle-class families and I commit to raising more money to help students afford a Purdue education."

Although Purdue was given an apparently flat budget in the state appropriations process, 8 percent was made up of the one-time stimulus funding. Purdue actually received a cut of 8 percent in its recurring funding for operations, or $21 million over two years at the West Lafayette campus, said James S. Almond, Purdue's senior vice president for business services and assistant treasurer.

Almond said stimulus dollars from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act would not be used to fund recurring expenses. Instead, those funds would be dedicated to one-time expenditures, such as repair and rehabilitation costs and to credit the first-year cost of the $500 fee for newly enrolled undergraduates back to in-state resident students. Purdue also will use the stimulus funds to help with $400 million in facility repair and rehabilitation needs.

Under the new tuition and fee structure, which includes the one-year $500 credit for first-time students, resident students will pay $8,138 in the 2009-10 academic year. Tuition and fees for 2010-11 would be $8,544 for returning residents and $9,070 for returning sophomores and first-time resident students.

Nonresident students returning to the West Lafayette campus would pay $1,394 more, and nonresident first-time students would pay $1,894 more for the 2009-10 academic year. Tuition and fees in 2009-10 would be $24,618 for returning nonresident students and $25,118 for nonresident first-time students. Tuition and fees for 2010-11 would be $26,096 for returning nonresidents and $26,622 for nonresident first-time students.

Some programs, such as engineering, management, pharmacy and veterinary medicine, also have fee differentials, which are dedicated to defraying the higher costs of these programs. New this year is a $500 differential fee for College of Technology students who start this fall on the West Lafayette campus.

For 2008-09, total financial aid and student support on the West Lafayette campus was budgeted at $467 million, and three out of four Purdue students receive some form of assistance. In 2008-09, for a student with a family income below $40,000, the net cost for tuition, room and board was an average of $1,666 after all forms of aid were counted. Students who qualify for federal financial aid will have their tuition and fees offset with additional Purdue aid.

Purdue's undergraduate resident fees this year rank ninth among all Big Ten institutions, and nonresident tuition and fees rank seventh.

Fees for Indiana students at other Purdue campuses are assessed on a per credit hour basis. Rates for resident and nonresident students, which represent a 5 percent and 6 percent increase, respectively, are:

* Purdue Calumet - $210 and $471

* Purdue North Central - $213 and $502

* Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne - $231 and $549

System-wide general fund budgets were established with recurring funds only and exclude any federal stimulus dollars. In approving Purdue's general fund budget, which supports educational and base operating expenditures, the Executive Committee endorsed the following spending plans for fiscal year 2009-2010:

* At the West Lafayette campus: A 4.5 percent increase to $873.3 million.

* At Purdue Calumet: A 3.1 percent increase to $78.2 million.

* At Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne: A 5.2 percent increase to $100.5 million.

* At Purdue North Central: A 4 percent increase to $28.2 million.

Almond said aggressive cost-cutting measures led to a budget that will allow the university to provide competitive financial aid packages to students and continue to fund strategic plan initiatives while, at the same time, offsetting increased operational costs.

For example, staff benefits and unavoidable costs, such as fuel, utilities, insurance, plant expansion, and repair and rehabilitation, are expected to increase a total of $15.7 million on the West Lafayette campus in the upcoming fiscal year.

At West Lafayette, the budget calls for a 5.3 percent decrease in recurring operating appropriations from the 2008-2009 fiscal year budget and supply and expense budgets have been flatlined. The university also has previously announced that there would be no annual merit salary adjustments for all employees, however, funds will be allocated to cover both the employee and university share of significant increases in health-care costs.

The general fund, which supports the academic mission of the university, represents only a portion of the university's total system-wide operating budget. The full operating budget totals more than $1.96 billion for fiscal year 2008-2009 and includes the general fund; sponsored programs; gifts; and revenue from residence halls, athletics, other auxiliary income and university-funded financial aid.

The total operating budget fiscal year 2009-2010 is not yet established and will be presented at a future trustees' meeting.

Writers: Brian Zink, 765-494-2077, bzink@purdue.edu

Chris Sigurdson, 765-496-2644, sig@purdue.edu

Sources: Keith Krach, (650) 430-5533, keith@3points.org

France A. Córdova, (765) 494-9708, president@purdue.edu

James S. Almond, 765-494-9706, jsalmond@purdue.edu

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

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