Purdue trustees approve 2025 budget that includes frozen tuition, increased compensation and key investments

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — With a continuing commitment to the vision of higher education at the highest proven value, faculty and staff compensation increases, and strategic investments, Purdue University trustees on Friday (June 7) adopted the university’s operating budget for the 2025 fiscal year, with revenues modestly exceeding expenditures.

Tuition will remain frozen at Purdue’s West Lafayette campus for the 12th consecutive year, keeping base undergraduate tuition and fees for Indiana residents under $10,000 per year. Tuition and fees at Purdue Northwest and Purdue Fort Wayne will increase 3% each year of the biennium, below the 3.5% maximum rate recommended by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education.

Faculty and staff merit compensation at Purdue West Lafayette will be set at 3%, continuing a four-year streak of salary increases above the Big Ten average. Except for the pandemic year of 2020-21, Purdue has offered a merit increase every year since 2010. (In November 2020, more than 15,000 employees received a one-time appreciation award of $750.) In total, since July 2021 and through the current salary year, the average salary at Purdue West Lafayette has increased 21%. Purdue Northwest and Purdue Fort Wayne will have 3% and 2% faculty and staff merit increases, respectively. In addition to investments in base compensation, Purdue continues to hire key faculty and staff across all areas of campus to support excellence in research and academic quality.

Systemwide revenues are budgeted at $3.159 billion — a 2.8% increase compared with fiscal year 2024, driven by West Lafayette undergraduate enrollment increases, growth in sponsored awards, new rates for on-campus student housing and dining, and athletics revenue increases. Revenues are expected to exceed expenditures by $72 million, for an operating surplus of 2.3%. This surplus allows for continued investment in strategic priorities, including:

• Purdue University in Indianapolis
• Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business
• Purdue’s Next Moves
• Core infrastructure repair and rehabilitation
• Research productivity and growth
• Purdue University Online
• Purdue Computes
• Movable Dream Hires program

Trustees endorsed the following total operating expenditures for fiscal year 2025:

• At the West Lafayette campus: $2.761 billion
• At Purdue Fort Wayne: $164 million
• At Purdue Northwest: $162 million 

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research institution demonstrating excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, including nearly 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business, Purdue Computes and the One Health initiative — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.

Writer: Tom Schott

Media contact: Tim Doty, doty2@purdue.edu

Sources: Chris Ruhl, treasurer and chief financial officer

Eva Nodine, vice president and deputy chief financial officer