<p>Somewhere (might even have been CC), I heard the maxim that you always want to see construction on a campus, because it means that there is money there and that they are changing / innovating with the times. I am curious as to whether you all find that to be true?</p>
<p>I’d be interested to hear if there is a college campus anywhere where there isn’t construction…
I’ve never seen one.</p>
<p>Pizzagirl - IMHO that is yesterday’s advice. Unless one is talking about the top 50 or a state school, I would be more concerned if a school is expanding and may have to decrease standards while you are there. Same profs, but kids with lesser ability could, again IMHO, result in YOUR degree being valued less.</p>
<p>I actually don’t think that necessarily signifies anything…</p>
<p>For one, I go to a major state U undergoing huge budget cuts yet they are starting several new projects as well as renovations despite that. This is because some of the projects are to help increase long term revenue, maybe even specifically becuse they see a drop in funds; some of the projects are funded by donors and go towards only their interests, not the school at large; some of the projects might have been planned a long time ago and need to go through anyway since the contracts are signed (though perhaps not without undergoing some major cuts to the plans, which you won’t be able to tell from walkng around). All of these three apply to my state u which has “seen better days” (but haven’t all universities?). </p>
<p>If anything at least it signifies that the campus is properly updating itself (for example a campus with no construction ever is just not possible, since 1,000s of students walking through it tend to wear it down and regular maintenance is necessary). Perhaps you can gather that it’s changing/innovating, as well - I think that is certainly true for my uni and the projects it undertakes. But that doesn’t necessarily mean there’s “money there” or that the way it’s changing is good ;).</p>
<p>DD’s school had HUGE building going on the last three years. This year there is no major construction going on because they have just FINISHED a HUGE set of building projects. Does this mean the school has gotten worse? I don’t think so.</p>
<p>Our state budget is slashing funds for everything but decided last year that S2’s univ. should be the site of the next Dental school in our state. Ground was broken for the new Dental Sch. in the spring and expects to accept it’s first class in 2011.</p>
<p>if there isn’t construction, you should at least see signs of maintenance going on</p>
<p>I would say that doesn’t always hold true. I work in construction and we work at one of the UCs. They are still doing construction in part because the time line is so far out. It can take several years for a project to be completed with the funding having been secured at the very beginning. So even though everyone knows the UCs are in budget crisis you still see construction going on.<br>
Of course, you do want to see maintenance. Although I just took
DD off to school and they had brilliantly decided to lay a couple of new concrete sidewalks. One was right outside a group of residence halls everyone was moving into. The other was right near the place you went to get your room keys. That one had a maintenance guy standing there to make SURE no one walked through it. (It already had one large set of footprints :))</p>
<p>The private U my kids attend seems to always be opening some new building or another (sometimes several). I KNOW they have tons of money–some of it ours from tuition, fees, room & board and of course very generous & successful alums/community (Lucas, Spielberg, engineers, etc.) </p>
<p>Our flagship U also has some construction on campus but it is having a lot of trouble financially & the construction takes forever to finish and never is completed on time. It is endless retrofitting that lasts about 2-3x as long as it was originally projected. Very big difference that you can’t miss in how construction is going and completion on schedule – the private U buildings tend to be completed on or ahead of schedule & tend to be gorgeous.</p>
<p>If this were true the University of Texas ought to be the best school in the nation. That place is like a gigantic construction site with its own football team.</p>
<p>The lack of construction could also mean you have a power hungry, short sighted state Senator. </p>
<p>[IU</a>, Purdue told to cut tuition costs or face delays in building projects | IndyStar.com | The Indianapolis Star](<a href=“http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009908230372]IU”>http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009908230372)</p>
<p>Harvard has all but stopped construction on a multi billion dollar project that has been planned for years. I doubt this will impact matriculation. All of the top schools are reassessing building plans.</p>
<p>It’s a decent indicator that the school’s finances are decent and/or that they have alums who will step up to the plate for multi-million $$$ donations. I’d expect a large university to have several buildings going all the time and a smaller one to have at least one every few years.<br>
And yes, being under state control can be tough sometimes but usually these types of revenge mongers can’t put together a real majority vote and get the guv to sign off too.</p>
<p>It seemed this summer with all the construction going on here that UW-Madison and the City of Madison were collectively trying to pull the entire country out of the recession.</p>
<p>Many colleges have put off all capital projects until the economic climate changes. I know this is true for Williams where my S attends.</p>
<p>I think this is a better strategy than cutting faculty salaries or overspending the endowment (or risky borrowing.)</p>
<p>In that case, this means a delay on a library project. While it is disappointing, the delay does not affect the quality of the education. Other cost-cutting measures might.</p>
<p>Colleges doing contruction now also are enjoyong much lower costs than a couple years ago–to the tune of 20-30% less for new construction. Even if it looks tight it might be smart to build now even if you need to borrow the money.</p>