Cost per degree
Ball State: $58,011
Indiana University: $67,770
Purdue University: $74,898
Four-year graduation rate in 2009
Ball State: 32.6 percent
Indiana University: 49.7 percent
Purdue University: 37.6 percent
Eight-year graduation rate in 2013
Ball State: 57.3 percent
Indiana University: 74.2 percent
Purdue University: 69.9 percent
Source: Indiana Chronicle of Higher Education
• Ball State spends less per degree than Purdue and Indiana universities.
• The university receives less money from the state because of its low four-year graduation rate.
• Ball State is taking measures to increase the number of students getting degrees.
Ball State receives less public funding than its larger state cousins and so has to spend substantially less — as much as 23 percent less per graduate — than Indiana and Purdue universities.
“We’re good stewards of student tuition money and taxpayer money,” said Bernie Hannon, associate vice president of business affairs. “We spend more of our money on instruction and educational costs as opposed to administrative or other costs.”
Data from the Indiana Chronicle of Higher Education shows that Ball State spends $58,011 per degree — $9,759 less than IU and $16,887 less than Purdue.
Hannon said Ball State can’t afford to spend as much money as other colleges because the university has a lower tuition and, out of the three schools, receives the least amount of money from the state per student.
One way to get more money from the state is to get more students to graduate in four years, Hannon said.
Ball State currently graduates fewer students, who start college full-time, proportionally in four, six and eight years than IU and Purdue.
Hannon said although Ball State has struggled with graduation rates, the university continues to grow its graduation rates faster than any other Indiana college in recent years. Ball State’s four-year graduation rate rose 3.8 percentage points between 2005 and 2008, according to the latest information from the Ball State Fact Book.
The university’s goal is to get its four-year graduation rate up to 50 percent by 2017, up nearly 14 percentage points from the rate of students who graduated in four-years by 2012, according to the Ball State website.
To get students out the door with a degree faster, Ball State reduced the required credit hours for baccalaureate degrees to 120, created three-year degree programs, reduced the cost of summer school and structured tuition so students can take 12 to 18 credit hours for the same price.
The university also provides a $500 incentive scholarship for Indiana students who graduate in four years and charges an extra fee on every credit more than 144 hours.
Apart from the incentive for state funds, Hannon said Ball State also wants to make paying for college easier for students.
“We just want to make sure the opportunity is there if a student does want to get through as quickly as possible,” Hannon said.
HYPERLINK:
“spends $58,011” http://www.in.gov/che/files/BallStateUniversityCompletion.pdf
“$9,759” http://www.in.gov/che/files/IndianaUniversityBloomingtonCompletion.pdf
“$16,887” http://www.in.gov/che/files/PurdueUniversityWestLafayetteCompletion.pdf
“Ball State Fact Book” https://cms.bsu.edu/-/media/WWW/DepartmentalContent/Factbook/1112pdfs/Enroll/Students Enrollment_Part III_Persistence_update.pdf
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