Diploma Wording Change Upsets Some Purdue Northwest Students

HAMMOND, Ind. (AP) — Some Purdue University Northwest students are angry that the school's diplomas are being changed to specify that they graduated from a Purdue satellite campus.

The Hammond campus' diplomas have historically included a bold header in black and gold letters reading "Purdue University."

But school officials have announced that starting in May 2019 the diplomas will read "Purdue University Northwest."

Twenty-year-old junior Kate Franklin says prospective Purdue Northwest students are told they can get a Purdue University degree at lower cost by living at home and commuting, but now that's "totally changed."

She and other students planned a Monday protest of the change.

School spokesman Doug Clark says it's just a design change. School diplomas currently say they were earned in Hammond, although that text is at the bottom the diploma.