Students, faculty and staff to reap benefits from Purdue's strong financial position

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — With affordability and accessibility at the forefront of Purdue University’s higher education mission and buoyed by record enrollment, a sound investment strategy and extremely low institutional debt yielding nearly unprecedented financial stability, university officials on Friday (Dec. 3) announced a series of benefits for students, faculty and staff at its West Lafayette campus. The measures are:

* An 11th consecutive year of tuition unchanged at 2012-13 levels; base undergraduate tuition would remain at $9,992 per year for Indiana residents and $28,794 for out-of-state students through 2023-24. Per state statute, Purdue trustees will approve the extended tuition freeze officially in spring 2023.

* A 10th consecutive year with no increase in university residence hall rates on the West Lafayette campus, meaning the overall cost of attendance at Purdue will remain lower in nominal (unadjusted) dollars than 2012-13 for another year.

* All West Lafayette faculty, staff and graduate student staff hired on or before Sept. 1, 2021, and with the exception of those in executive-level positions, will receive an appreciation award in December. Full-time employees each will receive $500. Those who work less than full time will receive a prorated amount. In all, over 15,000 individuals will receive the one-time bonus.

* A 4% salary merit pool for West Lafayette faculty and staff for the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2022, the largest such amount in over 20 years. In addition, an extra 1% salary pool allocated to address specific workforce objectives, such as pay for entry-level service staff, graduate student stipends and faculty salaries in selected disciplines, and job/family structure compensation ranges for highly competitive in-demand jobs.

“Again this year, the people of Purdue have worked together to preserve a safe and well-maintained campus, and a rigorous high-quality educational experience for a record number of students. And they’ve done that with a productivity and efficiency that enables us to keep the student costs flat yet again,” Purdue President Mitch Daniels said. “That performance deserves recognition and this gesture of appreciation.”

In addition, Purdue officials announced Friday that incoming first-year students in 2022-23 will be given priority to live in traditional on-campus university residence halls. Acknowledging that additional housing capacity is needed to accommodate ongoing record enrollment, the university also has expanded its master leasing of apartments that are close to campus, including Aspire and Fuse, providing a greater range of housing options for upper-level students.

Purdue trustees also approved modest requested housing rate increases at Purdue Northwest (2%) and Purdue Fort Wayne (3.25%) for 2022-23.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to today’s toughest challenges. Ranked in each of the last four years as one of the 10 Most Innovative universities in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at https://purdue.edu/.

Sources: Mitch Daniels

Chris Ruhl

Beth McCuskey