@Publisher - I haven’t been back since the early 90s, so I really can’t comment on how the system is now. When I was there, I just had 2 classes at the public U (the rest were at a private college that sponsored the study abroad program). I took history and politics classes, so we didn’t really need any equipment, and sitting on the floor when we had to squeeze into a different room for make-up classes post strike didn’t affect the quality of the discourse. Of course, if I were paying tuition, I would expect more!
Sure, state of the art equipment for some fields is of course important. But I don’t think my son needs a climbing wall, lazy river, or gourmet dining in order to get a good education. During some of our tours I was questioning whether we were touring a university or a luxury spa.