Despite the rising costs associated with receiving a college education, Purdue University will not increase tuition for incoming students for the eighth consecutive year in a row.
The university announced on Monday that it plans to continue freezing tuition costs at 2012 levels for both existing and incoming students. The cost of room and boarding has been lowered to ease the overall cost of attendance as well.
The university will also provide a one-time $500 appreciation payment to all West Lafayette campus staff who earn less than $75,000, in addition to offering a 2.5 percent merit raise pool for the fifth consecutive year.
“As long as we are balancing our operating budget, growing our faculty, investing in necessary capital projects, and increasing compensation competitively, we see no good reason to charge our students more,” university president Mitch Daniels said.
“Our commitment to affordability has helped save families millions of dollars and, coupled with prioritizing our investments, we continue to believe that Purdue is delivering higher education at the highest proven value.”
In the fall of 2018, the university saw its largest ever enrollment of 8,357 students. Total student borrowing has gone down 31 percent since 2012, and the loan default rate for Purdue graduates currently stands at 0.8 percent. The university also received $400 million in donations from alumni, faculty, staff, retirees, students and corporations in 2018.
Many universities are beginning to freeze their tuition prices as higher education becomes more expensive. Last month, Corban University also rolled out plans to not increase tuition for students during the 2019-2020 academic year.
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