General Information

About Purdue

Purdue University, a top public research institution, offers higher education at its highest proven value. Committed to affordability, the University has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels. Committed to student success, Purdue is changing the student experience with greater focus on faculty-student interaction and creative use of technology. Committed to pursuing scientific discoveries and engineered solutions, Purdue has streamlined pathways for faculty and student innovators who have a vision for moving the world forward.

About Purdue

Accreditation

Office of Institutional Assessment

In the United States, academic institutions and programs use accreditation to ensure that they are meeting established standards of educational quality. Accreditation is a voluntary process of self-reflection and peer review that helps institutions to identify opportunities and challenges throughout the university.

Institutional Accreditation

There are two types of accreditation, institutional and specialized. Institutional accreditors, often referred to as “regional” accreditors, examine a college or university as a whole. Purdue University has been accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (HLC-NCA) since 1913. Our most recent accreditation visit was in October of 2019.

The HLC’s new Open Pathway for maintaining accreditation seeks to offer greater value to institutions by focusing on both an assurance of quality and an engagement in continuous improvement. Two Assurance Reviews will take place in the ten-year cycle. One in Year 4 through an online reporting system and one in Year 10 that couples the online assurance report with a campus visit. In addition, our campus will complete a Quality Initiative between Years 5 and 9 focused on institutional innovation and improvement suited to our needs and circumstances.

Specialized Accreditation

Specialized accreditors evaluate specific educational programs. Professional accreditors, such as those for business, engineering, and other technical areas, fall into this category. For a list of programs at Purdue University with specialized accreditation, click here.

Board of Trustees, Officers of Administration and Instruction

Current Board of Trustees

If you wish to send an email message to a trustee, please direct it to trustees@purdue.edu.

Faculty Senate

Please visit the University Senate to learn about the Faculty Senate Chair, meetings and minutes, committees and bylaws.

Current Members

The President’s Office

Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. Biography

Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. is the 12th president of Purdue University and the former governor of Indiana.

He was elected Indiana’s 49th governor in 2004 in his first bid for any elected office, and then re-elected in 2008 with more votes than any governor in the state’s history. During his tenure, Indiana went from bankruptcy to a AAA credit rating, led the nation in infrastructure building, and passed sweeping ethics and healthcare reforms. After a series of transformations, which included the biggest tax cut in state history, the nation’s most sweeping deregulation of the telecommunications industry and a host of other reforms aimed at strengthening the state’s economy, Indiana’s business climate is now rated among the nation’s best.

Prior to becoming governor, Daniels served as chief of staff to Senator Richard Lugar, senior advisor to President Ronald Reagan, and Director of the Office of Management and Budget under President George W. Bush.  He also was the CEO of the Hudson Institute, a major contract research organization.  During an 11-year career at Eli Lilly and Company, he held a number of top executive posts including president of Eli Lilly’s North American pharmaceutical operations.   

At Purdue, Daniels has prioritized student affordability and reinvestment in the university’s strengths. Breaking with a 36-year trend, Purdue has held tuition unchanged from 2012 through at least the 2019-20 academic year. Simultaneously, room rates have remained steady, meal plan rates have fallen about 10%, and student borrowing has dropped 31% while investments in student success and STEM research have undergone unprecedented growth.  It is less expensive to attend Purdue today than it was in 2012.

In recognition of his leadership as both a governor and a university president, Daniels was named among the Top 50 World Leaders by Fortune Magazine in March 2015.

Daniels earned a bachelor’s degree from Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and a law degree from Georgetown. He is the author of three books and a contributing columnist in the Washington Post, and his writings are regularly featured in other publications.

He and his wife Cheri have four daughters and six grandchildren.

Please visit the Office of the President for more information.

The Provost’s Office

The Office of the Provost is committed to promoting academic excellence at Purdue. The provost and vice president for academic affairs is Purdue’s chief academic officer, reporting directly to the president. The provost is responsible for:

1. All academic programs
2. Academic strategy and priorities
3. Faculty-related matters (including academic appointments, tenure and promotion)
4. Student academic affairs

The provost works closely with the deans of all colleges and schools to ensure effective collaboration and inspire new areas of scholarship. He also has direct responsibility for academic support units including diversity and inclusion, enrollment management, financial affairs, and the libraries. The provost collaborates with the chief financial officer and has responsibility for the allocation of financial resources in accordance with academic priorities. The provost also communicates on academic and faculty matters with a wide variety of internal and external constituencies, including the Board of Trustees. For more information, visit Office of the Provost.

Equal Access/Equal Opportunity

Nondiscrimination Policy Statement (website)

Purdue University is committed to maintaining a community which recognizes and values the inherent worth and dignity of every person; fosters tolerance, sensitivity, understanding, and mutual respect among its members; and encourages each individual to strive to reach his or her own potential. In pursuit of its goal of academic excellence, the University seeks to develop and nurture diversity. The University believes that diversity among its many members strengthens the institution, stimulates creativity, promotes the exchange of ideas, and enriches campus life.

Purdue University views, evaluates, and treats all persons in any University related activity or circumstance in which they may be involved, solely as individuals on the basis of their own personal abilities, qualifications, and other relevant characteristics.

Purdue University prohibits discrimination against any member of the University community on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin or ancestry, genetic information, marital status, parental status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability, or status as a veteran. The University will conduct its programs, services and activities consistent with applicable federal, state and local laws, regulations and orders and in conformance with the procedures and limitations as set forth in Purdue’s Equal Opportunity, Equal Access and Affirmative Action policy which provides specific contractual rights and remedies. Additionally, the University promotes the full realization of equal employment opportunity for women, minorities, persons with disabilities and veterans through its affirmative action program.

Any question of interpretation regarding this Nondiscrimination Policy Statement shall be referred to the Vice President for Ethics and Compliance for final determination.

FERPA

Information For Students & Parents at Purdue University

FERPA Regulations

FERPA information

What rights do students have under FERPA?

• The right to inspect and review their education records within 45 days of their request
• The right to request an amendment to their education records
• The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in their education records
• The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures to comply with FERPA

“Legitimate Educational Interest”

A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibility.

Public Posting of Grades

The public posting of grades, either by the student’s name, institutional student identification number, or social security number is a violation of FERPA. Using an assigned random number that only the student and instructor know would be an appropriate way to post grades. Even then, the order of posting should not be alphabetic.

What is directory information?

Institutions may disclose the following information on a student without violating FERPA if the student has not restricted their information.

• name
• e-mail address
• address (local & home)
• telephone number (local & home)
• college/school and curriculum
• enrollment status and credit hour load
• dates of attendance
• classification
• receipt or non-receipt of a degree
• academic awards received (dean’s list, honors students)
• participation in officially recognized activities
• sports photograph
• position, weight, and height of athletes

Indiana SSN Law

Internal use of SSN information within the Purdue system for the purpose of conducting normal business is still permitted under the Indiana law. However, it is important to remember that Purdue data handling guidelines address the usage and methods of exchanging sensitive and restricted data, in addition to just SSN information. Guidelines

What are education records?

An education record is any record that is directly related to a student and maintained by the university. A student has the right of access to these records.

Education records include any records in whatever medium (handwritten, email, print, magnetic tape, film, diskette, etc.) that is in the possession of any school official. This includes transcripts or other records obtained from a school in which a student was previously enrolled.

What aren’t education records?

• sole possession records or private notes held by school officials that are not accessible or released to other personnel,
• law enforcement or campus security records that are solely for law enforcement purposes and maintained solely by the law enforcement unit,
• records relating solely to an individual ’ s employment by the institution that are not available for any other purpose,
• records relating to treatment provided by a physician, psychiatrist, psychologist or other recognized professional or paraprofessional and disclosed only to individuals providing treatment,
• records of an institution that contain only information about an individual obtained after that person is no longer a student, i.e., alumni records,
• grades on peer-graded papers that have not been collected and recorded.

Letters of Recommendation

Statements made by a person making a recommendation that are made from that person’s own observation or knowledge do not require a written release from the student who is the subject of the recommendation. However, if personally identifiable information obtained from a student’s education record is included in a letter of recommendation (grades, GPA, etc.), the writer is required to obtain a signed release from the student which:

1. specifies the records that may be disclosed,
2. states the purpose of the disclosure, and
3. identifies the party or class of parties to whom the disclosure can be made.

Since the letter of recommendation would be part of the student’s education record, the student has the right to read it - unless he/she has waived that right of access.

“Health and Safety” Exception

Institutions may take into consideration circumstances pertaining to the health and safety of a student or other individuals to disclose information from education records without a student’s consent. If the institution determines there is “articulable and significant threat” to the health and safety of the student or others, information from education records can be released “to any person whose knowledge of the situation is necessary to protect” the health and safety of the student or other individuals.

Outsourcing and Access to Education Records

Institutions are allowed to disclose education records without the student’s consent to contractors, volunteers, and other non -employees performing institutional services and functions.

FERPA and Parents’ Access to their Student’s Education Records

1. When a student reaches the age of 18 or begins attending a postsecondary institution at any age, FERPA rights transfer from the parent to the student.
2. Parents may obtain non-directory information (grades, GPA, etc.) at the discretion of the institution if the student is a dependent per federal tax law.
3. Parents seeking information about their student may review the information here.
4. MyPurdue Proxy:  A student can give parents, legal guardians, or other trusted parties access to view certain pieces of their student information online. This access is referred to as proxy access, and the person who is granted this authorization is called myPurdue proxy. The student controls the entire process through his/her myPurdue Portal and can add anyone with a valid e-mail address as a proxy.

• Creating a Proxy Account: Student Guide: myPurdue Proxy Access - Student Guide (.pdf)
• Authenticating a New Proxy Account: Instructions for Proxies: myPurdue Proxy Access - Instructions for Proxies (.pdf)
• Future Proxy Login

Call 765-496-0509 or email ferpa@purdue.edu for FERPA assistance.

Tuition and Fees

Estimated Cost of Undergraduate Attendance, 2019-2020

A Purdue University Student Invoice is made up of various Tuition & Fees, which make up the total tuition for the University.  The University breaks down specific tuition costs in order to be transparent as to where specific funds are directed and how they are utilized.

Tuition and Fee Rate tables

Below are estimated costs for the 2019-2020 academic year (two semesters of full-time enrollment). Part-time students can find costs by credit hour see Office of the Bursar.

(All University fees are subject to change without notice.)

• Computer Science - $1,025
• Data Science $1,025.00
• Honors College $100.00
• Engineering - $1,025
• Management - $718
• Purdue Polytechnic - $286
• Flight - Individual courses in this program have additional fees; please refer to the Bursar website or contact the department for specific flight course fees.

Estimated Cost of Graduate Attendance

+ Tuition will remain frozen at current rates through the 2019-20 academic year.
**International students are those who hold F, J, and some other visa types
**Some programs have additional fees:
Computer Science - $562
Engineering - $562
Management - $6,208
Purdue Polytechnic - $286
Flight - Individual courses in this program have additional fees; please refer to the Bursar website or contact the department for specific flight course fees.
This information is subject to change without notice.
If you enroll in classes but must withdraw before the semester starts, Purdue will refund your tuition/fees. After classes begin, refunds are reduced proportionally. Students who have certain types of federal financial aid are subject to other refund schedules.

Estimated Cost of Pharm.D
(All University fees are subject to change without notice.)

+ Tuition will remain frozen at current rates through the 2019-20 academic year.
**International students are those who hold F, J, and some other visa types
This information is subject to change without notice.
If you enroll in classes but must withdraw before the semester starts, Purdue will refund your tuition/fees. After classes begin, refunds are reduced proportionally. Students who have certain types of federal financial aid are subject to other refund schedules

Estimated Cost of Veterinary Medical Budget

+ Tuition will remain frozen at current rates through the 2019-20 academic year.
**International students are those who hold F, J, and some other visa types
This information is subject to change without notice.
If you enroll in classes but must withdraw before the semester starts, Purdue will refund your tuition/fees. After classes begin, refunds are reduced proportionally. Students who have certain types of federal financial aid are subject to other refund schedules.

GI Bill Delayed Payment Policy

All Chapter 31 VocRehab and Chapter 33 Post 9/11 GI Bill® students that have submitted their GI Bill Enrollment Certification form and have been certified by the University, will not be restricted in any way for the first 90 days of a semester if the reason for the delay in making payments for the certified semester is due to a delay in receipt of benefits from the VA.  This will include assessment of late fees, the denial of access to classes, libraries, or other institutional facilities, or the requirement that a covered individual borrow additional funds. After the 90 days, the University will treat each Veteran on a case-by-case basis.  Please contact the Bursar’s Office at askbursar@purdue.edu or the Veterans Success Center at dogtags@purdue.edu for more information. 

Posthumous Degrees