March 20, 2017

Purdue to hold tuition flat through 2018-19

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University President Mitch Daniels announced Monday (March 20) that the university will hold tuition at 2012 levels through the 2018-19 academic year, ensuring that four graduating classes will have gone through Purdue without ever experiencing a tuition increase and marking the sixth straight year of flat tuition after 36 years of increases. In addition, Daniels announced that the university will offer a 2.5 percent merit raise pool for employees for 2017.

“A careful review of our finances with CFO Bill Sullivan and the Board of Trustees has convinced us that we can continue our policy of tuition restraint while maintaining competitive compensation levels and an aggressive program of investment in teaching and research,” Daniels said. “Through the cooperation of units and individual leaders all over campus, Purdue students and their families will pay less to attend Purdue in 2019 than they did in 2012. We’re unaware of any other American university that can make that statement.”

attendance chart Cost of attendance Download image

Daniels’ announcement means tuition and fees through 2018-19 will remain at 2012-13 levels with resident students paying $10,002, out-of-state students paying $28,804 and international students paying $30,804. In addition to tuition and fees, with the approved 2017-2018 rates, room and board costs continue to be at or lower than 2012-13 levels. During this time, Purdue dropped from having the second-highest rates in the Big Ten to the third-lowest for room and board. 

Lower costs combined with added communication and education about debt have also helped lead to a decrease of 30 percent in Purdue student borrowing since 2012, a stark contrast to the national scene, where, since 2010, Americans have held more student debt than any other form of debt except home mortgages. Purdue’s student loan default rate, too, is far lower than the national average with Purdue at 1 percent three years after graduation compared with the national average of 7.6 percent.

loandebt chart Student debt Download image

Daniels said that while affordability and protecting the budgets of students and their families continues to be the central priority, investing in the university’s missions and in its employees is a similarly important goal. Through larger enrollments, attention to efficiency, successful fundraising and increased sponsored research, Purdue has been able to launch a host of major initiatives. Examples include $250 million over five years for life sciences research, $150 million for engineering expansion, $26 million in scholarship funding for 2015-17 and $11 million to support international studies. The 2.5 percent merit raise pool for 2017 follows the 2.5 percent pool for 2016 and 3.5 percent in 2015. 

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ADDITIONAL FACTS ON AFFORDABILITY

* Purdue in-state tuition would be more than $1,000 per year higher if the university had raised its rates at the national average.

* As a result of flat tuition since 2012, Purdue students and their families have saved more than $226 million that they would otherwise have had to spend on their educational expenses.

* Nationally, the amount of federal student loans in default at the end of 2016 increased 14 percent from 2015 to $137 billion; and 1.1 million federal loan borrowers defaulted. Nearly 2.5 million borrowers were delinquent over the past two years.

 

ADDITIONAL FACTS ON INVESTMENT

* $5 million was invested in order to offer basic dental insurance at no cost to Purdue employees in 2016 and 2017.

* An additional $2.7 million was invested to add coverage for autism treatment in the 2016 and 2017 employee health plans.

* $21.3 million was invested to establish the Purdue Polytechnic Institute.

* $7.2 million was invested to help professors transform courses from traditional to active learning classrooms.

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