We can all fantasize about the expansion of no frills education but… reality intrudes.
A branch of our flagship state U is within walking distance from my house. No, it’s not the flagship, but it’s not a former teacher’s college either. It is a satellite branch of the flagship with a limited number of majors, located in a downtown neighborhood with good bus service across the city (and to a couple of nearby suburbs, small city about 15 miles away) AND terrific train service across the entire metro region. It has always been a solid choice for local kids who can live at home, work part time, they don’t even need a car. Nice, cost-effective choice for kids who want a BA without the bells and whistles (i.e. no frills. No football games, no frats, no climbing walls).
What did the university unveil this past August? Its first dorm for this university. Built smack dab in the middle of the city, I haven’t toured yet but according to the local papers it is GORGEOUS. Part of the U’s “strategic plan”.
I cannot fathom why a university with good mass transit (two blocks from a major commuter train station, bus service across the city and region) would outbid several private developers to build dorms-- with all the bells and whistles-- for a university which has been pulling from mostly local kids.
So our fantasies of no frills do not jive with reality on the ground. The U has been underenrolled; kids want the “going away” experience even to a satellite branch of a state university.
Is it expensive to dorm? Heck yes. This is an urban area in the Northeast, not a rural part of Arkansas where land and labor are cheap.
Sigh. Reality.