Purdue froze in-state tuition at $9,992 for a decade and grew 30% (interview)

In a September 2022 NPR Morning Edition interview, outgoing Purdue president Mitch Daniels says Purdue had raised its price for 36 consecutive years before he arrived. He recalls proposing 'a one-year timeout' in 2013; ten years later in-state tuition was still held at $9,992, and out-of-state and international prices were also steady.

Daniels describes no single big step to balance the books: he asked alumni for more contributions and made an annual effort to manage expenses. He says the main factor in avoiding a price rise was a 'virtuous cycle': a reputation for affordability brought substantial growth, with the school 30% bigger than when the freeze began and the extra revenue replacing a tuition increase. He says there were no larger classes, the faculty grew and pay stayed above the peer average.

He puts the families' saving at over $1 billion cumulatively versus tuition rising at the Big 10 or national average, and says more than 99% of graduates repay their loans (both self-reported). Asked about income share agreements, he says Purdue launched them, but NPR notes the federal Department of Education counts them as loans, some students told the Indianapolis Star they did not understand them, and Purdue had paused the program to change vendors.

Per Daniels: enrollment 30% bigger, faculty pay above peer average, and about $1B less paid by families than at the Big 10 average rate (self-reported in the interview).

Daniels wanted to test whether the 36-year habit of annual increases was necessary, starting with a one-year pause.

Growth in enrollment supplied revenue that replaced what a price rise would have raised.

A fixed headline price just under $10,000 became a marketing message in itself.

Alumni giving and yearly expense management closed the remaining gap.

A price freeze can fund itself if the reputation for affordability brings enough extra students to replace the revenue a price rise would have raised.

As of Sept 2022, Daniels was retiring at year's end; in-state tuition was still $9,992 after ten years. Purdue had paused its income share agreements pending a vendor change while supporting national standards for the practice.