PODCAST || Mitch Daniels: Revolutionizing Purdue’s Affordability While Keeping A Commitment To Quality – Forbes
Why is going to college or university so damnably expensive? Why does the sticker price for attending institutions of higher learning relentlessly rise faster than the rate of inflation? Why are so many students graduating—or in all too many cases, dropping out—and finding themselves burdened with debt the size of a mini-mortgage? Wasn’t higher ed supposed to be a ticket to upward mobility instead of the equivalent of indentured service?
It’s a national scandal—and it doesn’t have to be this way.
The proof is right here in my conversation with Purdue University president Mitch Daniels, who has been piloting this institution—which is particularly noted for its science and engineering prowess—since 2013.
What Daniels has achieved is jaw-dropping, most notably no tuition increases since he took office. He has steadily implemented administrative efficiencies and ferreted out wasteful spending. He cut a deal with Amazon that has helped reduce the sky-high prices of textbooks. He has introduced other innovative programs that are assisting students at meeting costs. All the while, he has increased the number of tenured faculty and improved the school’s curriculum.