Following an inspiring visit to the University of Illinois Champaign, Duncan stopped stopped at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, for a conversation with students and University President (and former two-term Governor) Mitch Daniels.
At a time when college matters more than ever before to the success of individual Americans, and our nation as a whole, the nation’s attention is focused on ways to ensure that all students have the opportunity to access, pay for, and complete a quality degree that truly equips them for a great career with a strong salary, active engagement in their homes and communities, and everything else that life has to offer. To achieve the goal of helping unprecedented numbers of students, from more diverse backgrounds, than ever, to gain knowledge, skills and a valuable degree, at a reasonable cost – we can’t rely on business as usual. We need to innovate: at the federal, state, and local levels. We need higher education institutions and leaders willing to do things differently.
Purdue is one of the schools showing the way.
At a time when rising tuition costs are grabbing headlines, the total cost of attending Purdue has actually fallen since President Daniels arrived on campus. Total loan debt among the student body has also fallen 18% or $40 million. Purdue announced it would freeze tuition for two years, later extending the freeze for a third year. Four-year graduates from the class of 2016 will be the first in at least 40 years to leave Purdue without ever having experienced a tuition hike.
The Secretary praised President Daniels and Purdue for this and other innovative efforts to help students access, afford and complete their degrees. The two discussed the University’s focus on: building a stronger pipeline between secondary school and college with a new charter model – Purdue Polytechnic Indianapolis High School – scheduled to open in 2017 with university-aligned curriculum and standards; redesigning coursework to accelerate degree attainment; launching a new Gallup-Purdue Index to measure the value of a college degree; and implementing proven strategies to help an increasingly diverse student population – including more low-income and first generation college students – succeed in higher education.
Purdue was also the recipient of a 2014 “First in the World” grant from the Department. The school is using $2.3 million in federal funding for a new “Success through Transformative Education and Active Mentoring” project: an experimental study to determine why active learning models in schools succeed, and focused on overhauling 30 courses in the fields of science, technology, engineering, math and the arts. This effort builds on Purdue’s existing “IMPACT” model, which has already transformed 120 traditional lecture-style courses into active, student-centered learning environments, in past 4 years.
Watch Secretary Duncan wrap up day three of the Ready for Success bus tour:
Posted By: agnes levine
Friday, September 18th 2015 at 11:50AM
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