Such compliments are remarkably routine for the Purdue Engineering Professional Education (EPE) program. Enrollments are growing rapidly for its online master’s programs for working professionals, including many with undergraduate degrees from Purdue. These alums’ experience in industry reinforces what they learned here before — that Purdue is the go-to place for what’s needed for a challenging, rewarding career, whether that career is just beginning or already thriving.

With an attention-grabbing No. 4 national ranking, EPE’s nine master’s degree programs have seen a 54 percent surge in enrollment in just four years, from 531 degree-seeking students in 2010-11 to 815 in 2014-15.

“I’m proud that our undergrads who go off into industry want to come back to get a Purdue master’s degree, and a large number of students have done that,” says William Crossley, professor of aeronautics and astronautics, who teaches the EPE online master’s course AAE550, Multidisciplinary Design Optimization. He knows that all those who enroll from around the country and throughout the world have other options for their online master’s studies. “One of the big plusses we offer is that we give the off- and on-campus master’s students exactly the same course and exactly the same experience.”

Dale Harris

Dale Harris, EPE’s executive director, agrees that the duplicate curricula for on-campus and virtual students is among EPE’s many key attributes.

“Our online students are admitted using the same criteria. They take the same exams, do the same homework and receive the same degree as if they were here on campus. Not all programs do that,” Harris says. “It’s one of the reasons we really shine in our peer assessment, which also takes into account the prestige of the Purdue degree. And the breadth of our program builds on those things and has made us one of the leaders.”

Recently EPE moved its home base into Wang Hall, where it is using the very latest technology for course delivery, which includes high-definition video recording that allows classes to be broadcast in real time and recorded for later access.

“It also allows us to offer more courses that originate in different locations around campus,” Harris says. “For example, Biomedical Engineering’s Jischke Hall is a long way from Wang, but faculty can teach from there now, so being state-of-the-art adds to our curriculum and faculty participation.”

Beyond the Purdue prestige, the identical on-campus and off-campus educational experience, and the breadth of the high-caliber curriculum, Harris says, pricing contributes to the program’s No. 4 ranking and overall high value.

“We are moderately priced by design,” he says. “By offering the highest-quality program at a moderate price, we maintain a high value position that is recognized by our alums and others seeking to increase their skills through graduate education.

“If there is a secret to our success, it’s investing in state-of-the-art technology and working very hard to accommodate the needs of working professionals. We look at this as a business. We have an extremely vigorous quality assurance process and we are always assessing what we do.”