May 20, 2005
Trustees pass tuition plan for next 2 fiscal years
WESTVILLE, Ind. – The Purdue University Board of Trustees today (Friday, May 20) approved a conceptual general fund budget that increases tuition and fees by 6 percent on all campuses in each of the next two years. For newly enrolled students beginning in fall 2006, the plan also creates a new fee that will be devoted exclusively to repair and rehabilitation of facilities.
The average in-state student at the West Lafayette campus this fall will pay $6,458 for the 2005-06 academic year, an increase of $366. Out-of-state students will pay $19,824 at West Lafayette. Resident students first enrolled at the West Lafayette campus before fall 2002 will pay about $1,100 less.
As part of the fee and budget plan, the trustees also approved a 6.5 percent increase in total systemwide student financial aid for fiscal year 2006, which will outpace the 6 percent fee increase.
"This fee increase, combined with efforts to hold the line on costs, will make it possible to maintain the quality of a Purdue education and to continue offering top educational opportunities for our students," said university President Martin C. Jischke. "At the same time, we must face the repair and rehabilitation issue on our campuses. Therefore, we are proposing a repair and rehabilitation fee on all of our campuses for new students beginning in the fall of 2006. Money generated from this fee will be devoted entirely to addressing a growing deferred repair and rehabilitation problem – now at $413 million on the West Lafayette campus – that has reached crisis proportions."
The repair and rehabilitation fee at the West Lafayette campus will be $250 for newly enrolled full-time students beginning in fall 2006. At Calumet, the fee for newly enrolled full-time students will be $79.50. Newly enrolled full-time students will pay $73.50 at Fort Wayne and $60 at North Central.
The repair and rehabilitation fee will generate nearly $7.3 million annually on the West Lafayette campus by fall 2011 when all students are paying the fee. These funds will be one of several sources of revenue used to address the backlog in repair and rehabilitation, Jischke said. Other money will come from the state, donors and reallocations of funds.
The conceptual general fund budget – $888.9 million systemwide for the coming academic year – was drafted after the state approved its biennial spending plan. In the state's plan, operating appropriations for the West Lafayette campus are reduced by 0.5 percent and funding for the entire Purdue system is down by 0.2 percent.
In approving Purdue's general fund budget, which outlines educational and base operating expenditures, the trustees endorsed the following spending plans for the 2005-06 fiscal year:
• At the West Lafayette campus: A 4.4 percent spending increase to $719 million.
• At Purdue Calumet: A 4.3 percent increase to $65.9 million. Fees at Calumet will rise for in-state students to $5,081, an increase of $287. Fees for students enrolled before fall 2002 will be $4,527.
• At Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne: A 4.9 percent spending increase to $81.2 million. Tuition and fees for Indiana residents will be $5,629, a $318 increase. Fees for students enrolled before fall 2002 will be $5,040.
• At Purdue North Central: A 4.1 percent spending increase to $22.7 million. In-state student fees will be $5,194, a $294 increase. Fees for students enrolled before fall 2002 will be $4,570.
The budget plan approved by the trustees also includes a 2 percent merit pool for salary increases for all staff groups.
Jischke said the spending plans will allow the university to continue funding initiatives outlined in the campuses' strategic plans while also providing the necessary funding to offset increased operational costs. For example, staff benefits and unavoidable costs, such as fuel, utilities and the costs of opening new facilities, are expected to increase a total of $11.4 million on the West Lafayette campus in the upcoming fiscal year.
"At the same time that universities throughout the nation are dealing with a variety of increased expenses and inflation, state support as a percentage of the cost of higher education is slipping," Jischke said. "At Purdue today, the student relative share is just under 60 percent, and the state relative share is just over 40 percent. This is almost exactly reversed from what it was 10 years ago.
"Despite these challenges, Purdue continues to offer a high-quality education at a cost that compares favorably to our peers and Big Ten public institutions."
Purdue's undergraduate resident fees this year rank eighth highest among Big Ten public institutions, and nonresident tuition and fees rank sixth. Purdue's undergraduate resident fees rank third among the state's comprehensive research institutions.
The general fund, which supports the academic mission of the university, represents only a portion of the university's total systemwide operating budget. Including the general fund, the full operating budget totals more than $1.5 billion in the 2004-05 fiscal year and includes sponsored programs, gifts and revenue from residence halls, athletics, other auxiliary income and university-funded financial aid. The total operating budget for the 2005-06 fiscal year is not yet established and will be presented at the trustees' Sept. 23 meeting.
Writer: Amy Raley, (765) 494-9573, araley@purdue.edu
Source: Martin C. Jischke, (765) 494-9708
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
President's comments to board on fees and budget: https://www.purdue.edu/uns/uns/html3month/2005/050520.SP.Jischke.fees.html
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