Trustees approve university's conceptual operating budget
WESTVILLE, Ind. - Purdue's board of trustees, meeting Friday (April 9) on the Purdue North Central campus, approved a conceptual general fund operating budget for the university that gives no merit increases and includes no increases in supply and expense money for the second year in a row.
The fiscal year 2011 general fund budget is anticipated to be $1.1 billion system-wide.
The general fund budget relies primarily on state appropriations and student fees. This year state funding went down 1.9 percent system-wide and 2.8 percent for the West Lafayette campus. Student fees for West Lafayette helped offset the drop in state funding and higher costs for staff benefits, fuel and utility costs, and critical repairs to facilities.
"This is a balanced budget for 2011, but only because there are no raises and because we took effective steps across the system to cut $45 million within the next 15 months. We will be diligent this year about finding additional savings and improving operating efficiencies. We want to ensure that Purdue continues to provide a high-quality education for its students and returns benefits to the state through its research," Purdue President France A. Córdova said.
"At the same time, we will continue to monitor the economy for signs of improvement that will permit us to revisit the compensation issue this fall. We are keenly aware of the challenges our employees face without raises."
Board of trustees chair Keith Krach said the university's additional efforts to cut operational costs and improve academic and administrative programs will be the primary source of funds for Purdue over the next several years.
"To accomplish what Purdue wants to do, Purdue will have to find the money within to pay for it," he said. "President Córdova's leadership has driven and inspired responsible management that meets our financial goals through increased productivity and efficiency without sacrificing our overarching mission of attracting and educating high-quality students while powering Indiana's economy with engagement efforts and research that have real-world applications."
Purdue is using deferred hiring, budget cuts to information technology, deferred operations and facility repairs, and energy savings to return $45.47 million from the 2009-2011 budget to state government as called for by Gov. Mitch Daniels.
In approving Purdue's general fund budget, which supports educational and base operating expenditures, trustees acknowledged the increases created by mandatory spending for benefits, utilities and insurance, and continued investment in student access, success and affordability, and improved retention and graduation rates. The regional campuses also received allocations for increased enrollment.
The trustees endorsed the following spending plans for fiscal year 2011:
* At the West Lafayette campus: A 3.9 percent spending increase to $907 million.
* At Purdue Calumet: A 4.3 percent increase to $81.5 million.
* At Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne: A 7.4 percent spending increase to $107.9 million.
* At Purdue North Central: A 4.4 percent spending increase to $29.4 million.
The final operating budget, reflecting estimates for all funds along with the details of strategic allocations, will be presented at the trustees' October meeting.
The board set tuition and fee increases at 5 percent for resident students and 6 percent for nonresident students last July. Fees for resident students new to the West Lafayette campus this fall are $9,070. Resident students who started in 2009 and this fall will have $250 of the student success fee rebated to them. Nonresident student tuition and fees will be $26,622.
Purdue's undergraduate resident fees for fall 2009 rank eighth among Big Ten public institutions, and nonresident tuition and fees rank sixth.
Students at the regional campuses are charged fees on a per-credit-hour basis. Based on 15 credit hours per semester, the annual costs would be:
* At Purdue Calumet: Tuition and required fees will be $6,622.50.
* At Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne: Tuition and fees for in-state new students will be $7,272.
* At Purdue North Central: Tuition and fees for Indiana residents will be $6,703.50.
Purdue has been involved in a broader effort to cut costs and improve efficiencies at the university since November. Committees are conducting administrative and academic program reviews and assessing salaries and benefits, overall purchasing, energy conservation, and information technology to identify cost savings. Implementation plans will be presented to the trustees at the May and July meetings and rolled out over the summer.
Writer: Chris Sigurdson, 765-496-2644, sig@purdue.edu
Source: France A. Córdova, president@purdue.edu