WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Students interested in transferring to Purdue University can use a new online tool to help them evaluate any credits that might transfer.

“In addition to the transfer credit database that will help prospective students determine if credit from other institutions will transfer to Purdue, this also will help current students evaluate whether a course they want to take at a hometown school during summer break will be accepted,” said Karan Bowerman, an assistant director who supervises credit evaluation in the Office of Admissions.

The transfer credit database, as well as information about transferring credit to Purdue, can be found at http://www.admissions.purdue.edu under the “Applying” header.

In the past, students relied on Purdue credit evaluation staff to provide a report. This new public site allows students to plug in a course name and number from another institution. The database immediately lets the user know if the course will be accepted.

This database also covers classes taken at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis because many of the courses there are offered by Indiana University. The credit evaluation is not applicable to Purdue’s Calumet, Fort Wayne and North Central regional campuses courses at those locations are offered by Purdue.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Times Higher Education – QS World University Rankings released its list of the top universities on Wednesday (Oct. 7), and Purdue University is ranked 87th.

Purdue jumped 12 ranks in 2009 (from 99th in 08). Purdue tied this year with Prince William's alma mater, the University of St. Andrews in the United Kingdom.

This is a 12-place increase for Purdue, which was ranked 99th in 2008. Purdue tied this year with the University of St. Andrews in the United Kingdom.

“This dramatic rise in rankings reaffirms Purdue’s status as a world-class university,” said Purdue President France A. Córdova. “Purdue’s international reputation continues to grow thanks to our international students and study abroad programs, and well-known researchers who are making a difference, such as professor Gebisa Ejeta, who just won the World Food Prize.”

Purdue’s engineering and information technology programs also are ranked 37th, while life sciences and biomedicine ranked 79th, and natural sciences ranked 94th. The complete listings are available at http://www.topuniversities.com/

“This world-wide recognition of our academics, scholarship and global impact tells prospective students that Purdue will prepare them to successfully compete and collaborate in a global economy and helps us recruit the very best educators and scholars to the university,” said Randy Woodson, Purdue’s executive vice president for academic affairs and provost.

The other top 100 Big Ten institutions ranked are University of Michigan at No. 19, University of Wisconsin at No. 61 and University of Illinois at No. 63.

The rankings were based on reviews or data related to peer institutions, employers, students, research performance, and international faculty and students. In total 9,386 academics and 3,281 employers responded to the surveys related to these rankings.

The Times Higher Education, which was founded in 1971, is a weekly magazine of universities from around the world. Top Universities Guide, the official guide to the Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings, contains advice on selecting, applying and financing higher education.

These rankings also are reported by U.S.News & World Report and will be available at http://www.usnews.com/sections/education/worlds-best-colleges/index.html

In August 2009 U.S.News & World Report ranked Purdue 22nd among the nation’s public universities. This was a four-place increase from 26th in 2008. Purdue also was ranked 61st among all universities, and this too was an improvement from 66th in 2008.

In April 2009, the magazine also ranked several of Purdue’s graduate programs, including areas in engineering, management, education, liberal arts, science and pharmacy, as among the nation’s best.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University is looking for feedback from faculty, staff and students regarding a proposal for a smoke-free campus.

“Purdue is considering whether the West Lafayette campus will join the more than 300 universities nationwide that are smoke free,” said Alphonso V. Diaz, executive vice president for business and finance treasurer. “We are considering this policy change because the health of our students, staff, faculty and visitors is a great concern. A number of health problems are linked to smoking as well as secondhand smoke, and this is why smoking cessation programs are available through the Student Wellness Office and WorkLife Programs for those who are ready to quit.”

Heart disease, cancer and respiratory problems are just some of the issues linked to smoking and secondhand smoke. Smoking by faculty and staff also leads to increased medical costs, higher insurance rates, maintenance expenses, lower productivity and higher absenteeism rates for the university, Diaz said.

Before making any policy changes, feedback from the campus community is needed. Information about the proposed change and a place to submit feedback is available at http://www.purdue.edu/policies/pages/about_policies/smoking.shtml. Feedback will be gathered until Nov. 1.

The current policy at the West Lafayette campus allows smoking outdoors at a distance of at least 30 feet from university facilities and in designated areas within the Union Club Hotel. The new policy would prohibit smoking indoors and outdoors on the entire grounds of the campus as well as in all vehicles owned or leased by Purdue. If approved, the new policy would go into effect on July 1, 2010.

In the Big Ten, the University of Iowa has the same campus-wide no smoking policy that Purdue is considering. Indiana University has a similar policy, but exceptions are made near student resident facilities and the Indiana Memorial Union Conference Center with approval. Other Big Ten universities have smoking policies, but they include variances and exceptions. All Purdue regional campuses have non-smoking policies, but details of each are set by administrators at those locations.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University ranked 22nd among the nation’s public universities and 61st among all universities, according to U.S. News & World Report magazine rankings released Thursday (Aug. 20).

Purdue University ranked 22nd (up from 26th in 2008) among the nation's public universities and 61st (up from 66th in 2008) among all universities.

The ranking is a move up from Purdue’s ranking of 26th last year. Purdue ranked 61st among all universities, tied with Clemson University, Fordham University, Texas A&M University and University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. This also is an improvement for Purdue, which ranked 66th last year.

“These rankings reflect our continued commitment to the student experience. It has been a year since we adopted our New Synergies strategic plan, and these rankings show that it is working,” President France A. Córdova said. “We are focusing our efforts on student success, and it is paying off. Students from across the nation and around the world know that when they come to Purdue, they will receive a high quality education due to the outstanding work of our faculty and staff.”

Factors that helped Purdue move up in the rankings are higher graduation rates and more classes with fewer students, Córdova said. She also noted that the alumni giving rate increased from 16 percent to 18 percent.

In the “Programs to Look For” category, Purdue is among 14 public and private universities cited for the quality of its internship programs, 24 cited for their first-year experience, and 22 cited for writing in the disciplines.

“It’s exciting and rewarding to see that the plans we have put in place to improve the academic experience of our students is being recognized,” said Randy Woodson, executive vice president for academic affairs and provost.

“The improved rankings, while gratifying, are not the goal. The goal is to make a difference for students, and the rankings are just a reflection of the fact that we are making strides on that front.”

Purdue’s College of Engineering tied for ninth nationally among doctoral-granting universities, sharing the spot with Cornell University and University of Texas-Austin. The college also ranked ninth last year.

The Krannert School of Management shared the 21st position with Georgetown University, Pennsylvania State University and University of Washington among doctoral-granting universities. Krannert has consistently been included in the top 25, ranking 17th last year and 21st in 2007.

Specialty programs in both management and engineering also ranked among the top five in several categories.

Among engineering specialties, four Purdue schools placed in the top five nationally: biological/agricultural, No. 2; industrial/manufacturing, No. 3; aerospace/aeronautical/astronautical, No. 4; and civil, tied at No. 5 with Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Purdue’s Krannert School had two top five specialty rankings: No. 4 in productions/operations management, and No. 4 in quantitative analysis and methods, tied with University of California-Berkeley.

The data for determining the nation’s best institutions of higher education come from questionnaires U.S. News sends to all accredited four-year colleges and universities. The magazine then determines its rankings based on measures that fall into seven broad categories: assessment by administrators at peer institutions; retention of students; faculty resources; student selectivity; financial resources; alumni giving; and “graduation rate performance,” the difference between the proportion of students expected to graduate and the proportion who actually do.

The magazine bases its specialty rankings on a spring 2009 survey of deans and department heads at peer institutions. The schools receiving the most votes are listed.

Information on the rankings can be found at the U.S.News & World Report Web site at http://www.usnews.com/. The magazine’s college guidebook, “America’s Best Colleges,” contains a directory of the more than 1,400 institutions.

More on Purdue’s past U.S. News and other rankings is available online at http://news.uns.purdue.edu/ranking.html.

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Purdue University College of Agriculture and Ivy Tech Community College-Lafayette are partnering on a new program to help make higher education even more accessible to Indiana students.

The Pathway Program allows students to co-enroll at Ivy Tech and Purdue in preparation for an undergraduate degree in the College of Agriculture. Students in the program will take courses simultaneously at both institutions with the goal of eventually earning a bachelor of science degree in agriculture from Purdue.

The Pathway Program, announced today (8/13) during the Ivy Tech State Board of Trustees meeting, is an educational offering that allows students to co-enroll at Ivy Tech and Purdue in preparation for an undergraduate degree in the College of Agriculture. Students in the program will take courses simultaneously at both institutions with the goal of eventually earning a bachelor of science degree in agriculture from Purdue.

“We are pleased to partner once again with Purdue to develop a seamless higher education system in Indiana,” said Thomas Snyder, president of Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana. “Our state is becoming a model across the country when it comes to partnerships and efficiencies in higher education.”

Purdue provost Randy Woodson said the program builds on Purdue’s role as a leading land grant university and rich tradition of agricultural education.

“This partnership with Ivy Tech will insure Hoosiers have access to a world-class educational experience and will improve the odds of success for students that might need additional preparation prior to their enrollment in the College of Agriculture at Purdue,” he said.

Students will be able to apply to the program through a Web site that will be developed and announced in September. The program, which is only being offered through Ivy Tech in Lafayette, will begin this fall accepting students for fall 2010. The program is limited to those students who wish to study agriculture, but may eventually expand to other disciplines, Woodson said.

Because of the co-enrollment nature of the program, Pathway students will take agriculture courses at Purdue and be able to live on the Purdue campus. Unlike a transfer program, Pathway students will benefit from the ability to take Purdue Agriculture courses with other Purdue students in their major.

Students in the program will participate in activities to support their academic development and also have all the benefits of full-time students at both institutions. On the Purdue campus that includes access to the library, recreational sports facility, student organizations and athletic events.

“We expect the Pathway Program to translate into higher retention and graduation rates at both institutions because of the added academic support and social networking opportunities,” said Mary Ostrye, vice chancellor for academic affairs at Ivy Tech.

Students eligible for the Pathway Program must be Indiana residents, have a high school diploma or equivalent certificate and should not have earned more than 15 credit hours from another college or university. The students will pay the appropriate tuition and fees for each institution.

Once a student completes the program requirements and receives an associate degree in agriculture from Ivy Tech, they will be guaranteed admission into Purdue’s College of Agriculture.

“It is anticipated in the future that we will see greater demand for jobs in the life sciences and agriculture-related fields and this program is a way to help provide even more successful, career-ready graduates for the industry,” said Dale Whittaker, associate dean and director of the Office of Academic Programs in Agriculture at Purdue.

The Purdue College of Agriculture has majors and minors in 11 academic departments that include agricultural and biological engineering, agricultural economics, agronomy, animal sciences, biochemistry, botany and plant pathology, entomology, food science, forestry and natural resources, horticulture and landscape architecture and youth development and agricultural education.

Ivy Tech Community College is the state’s largest public post-secondary institution and the nation’s largest singly-accredited statewide community college system with more than 130,000 students enrolled annually. Ivy Tech has campuses throughout Indiana. It serves as the state’s engine of workforce development, offering affordable degree programs and training that are aligned with the needs of its community along with courses and programs that transfer to other colleges and universities in Indiana. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association.