September 26, 2008

Purdue strategic plan targets top 20 national ranking

Currently, as ranked by U.S.News & World Report, Purdue is 26th among public institutions. When compared to all universities - both public and private - Purdue ranks 66th and will strive to be in the top 50.

The board, meeting at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, heard details of the metrics that will serve to measure progress for the university's strategic plan. The trustees in June approved the six-year plan with three overall goals: launching tomorrow's leaders, discovery with delivery and meeting global challenges.

"The function of our strategic plan is to focus our attention and resources in areas that are central to our progress," Córdova said.

One goal is to raise the academic profile of freshmen and increase the retention and graduation rate of undergraduate students. The SAT scores of incoming freshmen are up 13 points overall for fall 2008, with scores in math, reading and writing at 598, 554 and 545, respectively. Purdue also ranks well among the Big Ten institutions in the number of national merit scholars, she said. Purdue has 87 of these scholars enrolled compared to the Big Ten mean of 57.8.

For fall 2007, 85 percent of freshmen returned for their sophomore year, compared with a peer mean of nearly 94 percent and a Big Ten mean of close to 91 percent.

Purdue compares well in the area of faculty instruction, Cordova said, with a 13.8-to-1 ratio of full-time equivalent students to full-time faculty - better than peers and other Big Ten institutions.

To succeed in its missions, Córdova said, the university must have adequate financial resources, including state appropriations, tuition, endowment income, gifts and research dollars.

In 2006 Purdue's expenditures were $27,834 per full-time equivalent student, compared with the peer mean of $39,254 and the Big Ten mean of $34,013. State appropriations for 2006 were $7,600 per student, compared with $8,950 for the Big Ten and $9,590 for peers.

Research funding has increased, but there is opportunity to do more, Córdova told trustees.

"We have a lot of momentum and quality," she said. "We have new leadership, and now we have to create new partnerships to grow our sponsored programs even more."

For institutions without a medical school, Purdue ranks eighth in the nation for National Science Foundation research and development expenditures for science and engineering. Purdue's national rank for non-science and engineering expenditures is third, compared with eighth for peer and Big Ten institutions.

Julie Rosa, (765) 494-2036, jrosa@purdue.edu

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

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