Representatives from Indiana, Purdue, Ball State and Vincennes universities, as well as Indiana State and Ivy Tech Community College, discuss higher education costs and retention plans during a panel presentation at an Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute luncheon on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, in Indianapolis. (Casey Smith/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
INDIANAPOLIS — Officials from Indiana’s public colleges and universities agreed Thursday that their schools need to do a better job at convincing Hoosier students of the value of four-year degrees.
The discussion took place during the Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute’s annual luncheon in downtown Indianapolis.
Representatives from Indiana, Purdue, Ball State and Vincennes universities, as well as Indiana State and Ivy Tech Community College, conceded that rising tuition costs are deterring thousands of students from post-high school educations.
“How do we demonstrate the value of the education?” asked Christopher Ruhl, chief financial officer and treasurer at Purdue University. “Why would I spend all this money and incur all this debt? That’s what students are asking. And we’ve also got to sell this better and make sure the degree is worth the value. What’s your return on investment? Is this a good value? We hope at Purdue the answer is a resounding yes, but we have to continue focusing on that.”
Despite pushback from some state lawmakers and budget officials, Indiana’s public colleges and universities are slated to increase tuition and fees over the biennium — up to 4.9% per year — according to information provided to state budget regulators this summer.
The revelation has since put the state’s higher education officials in the hot seat and prompted calls for Indiana schools to renew efforts to make degrees more affordable and valuable for students.
Concerns also surround Indiana’s declining college-going rate. The state’s higher education commissioner indicated in June that Indiana’s already dismal college-going rate has declined by roughly another half-percent.
Data released last year showed that only half of Indiana’s 2020 high school graduates pursued some form of college education beyond high school. The drop marked the state’s lowest college-going rate in recent history, but the decline has been ongoing for the last five years.
That’s compared to five years ago, when 65% of Indiana’s high school graduates pursued some form of higher education.
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