Purdue to conduct public hearing on tuition, student fees
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University officials will conduct a public hearing Friday, May 27, on proposed tuition and fees to be paid by students attending any of the university's campuses during the 2011-12 and 2012-13 academic years.
At the West Lafayette campus, the proposal calls for a 3.5 percent base increase in each of the next two academic years for resident and nonresident students. In addition, there will be a fitness and wellness fee that will be phased in over three years, beginning with a $91 fee for the 2011-12 academic year. The proposal also calls for a 2.5 percent tuition and fee increase at Purdue's regional campuses.
Purdue sustained a cut of more than $7 million under the biennial budget approved by the General Assembly. The continued decline in state funding for higher education has made it imperative for universities to critically review their budgets and focus on ways to strategically target spending and grow revenue sources other than appropriations and tuition, said Purdue President France A. Córdova.
"Our tuition and fee proposal is within the state recommendations and respects the economic challenges faced by Hoosier families. It is as low as we could go and still ensure the quality of a Purdue education," she said. "Purdue is an exceptional value. In addition to the Nobel honor and other faculty achievements, Purdue is the only Big Ten institution to go up in the U.S.News national rankings last year, moving to 18th among all public research institutions. We've also achieved record levels of student retention and sponsored research funding, and our graduates came in fourth in the country in a Wall Street Journal survey of corporate recruiters."
Purdue's tuition proposal was within the Indiana Commission for Higher Education's (ICHE) recommendation. The $91 fee, endorsed by the Purdue Student Government and acknowledged as an appropriate special circumstance by ICHE, will help fund renovations and ongoing improvements to the university's Student Fitness and Wellness Center.
The new tuition and fee structure would result in a $388 increase in the 2011-12 year for West Lafayette campus resident students enrolled prior to spring 2009 and a $408 increase for those initially enrolled in summer 2009 or after. In the 2012-13 academic year, those students would see a $400 and $422 increase, respectively. Tuition and fees in 2011-12 would be $8,932 and $9,478 and $9,332 and $9,900 in 2012-13 for those groups of resident students.
Nonresident students enrolled prior to spring 2009 would see an increase of $1,004 and $1,034 over the next two academic years, while those initially enrolled in summer 2009 or after would see an increase of $1,024 and $1,056 over the biennium. Tuition and fees in 2011-12 would be $27,100 and $27,646 and $28,134 and $28,702 in 2012-13 for those groups of nonresident students.
Purdue's tuition and fees currently rank ninth among Big Ten universities for resident undergraduates and seventh for nonresident students.
Fees for students at other Purdue campuses are assessed on a per credit hour basis. The rates, which reflect a 2.5 percent increase, for resident and nonresident students, respectively, are:
* Purdue Calumet - $226 and $511
* Purdue North Central - $229 and $545
* Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne - $248 and $597
The public hearing will begin at 12:30 p.m. May 27 in Stewart Center, Room 326, as a special meeting of the Executive Committee of the university's Board of Trustees. The proposed fees will be discussed, and the public will have a chance to comment. The Executive Committee will act on behalf of the board and will vote on the fee proposal and the 2011-12 system-wide conceptual budget plan during the meeting.
A videoconference connection also will permit public input from Purdue's regional campuses.
Those wishing to speak at the hearing should notify the Board of Trustees' office in advance at 765-494-9710, or e-mail trustees@purdue.edu. A summary and complete details of the fee proposal are available online. Each speaker will be scheduled in the order they register and allotted three minutes to make comments at the hearing, which will last 30 minutes.
Written comments also may be submitted via e-mail or sent to the Office of the Board of Trustees, Hovde Hall, 610 Purdue Mall, West Lafayette, IN 47907.
Anyone wanting to offer testimony at one of the statewide campuses should contact that campus for directions to the videoconference location. Those locations and phone numbers are:
* Purdue Calumet: Student Union and Library Building, Room 150; 219-989-2400
* Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne: Kettler Hall, Room G20; 260-481-6103
* Purdue North Central: Library-Student-Faculty Building, Room 002; 219-785-5542
This special meeting is in addition to the board's regularly scheduled meeting on July 11 and 12.
Writer: Brian Zink, 765-494-2080, bzink@purdue.edu
Source: France A. Córdova, president@purdue.edu
Related news release:
Purdue trustees' committee reviews budget plan; vote set for May 27