3 ms·
One thing a lot of it may go towards is infrastructure and expansion. I know my alma mater has always had to constantly come up with big new construction projec
by cdr 17y ago
One thing a lot of it may go towards is infrastructure and expansion. I know my alma mater has always had to constantly come up with big new construction projects (new stadium, new academic buildings, new apartments, etc) because they needed something to do with all the money they were taking in. The construction seemed very clearly driven by the need to spend money, rather than the tuition being driven by the need for buildings. Providing value to students was definitely not a concern, because whatever tuition is it'll get paid - plenty of applicants were being rejected.
- gamble 17y agoThis may not apply to private institutions, but public schools are subject to boom-and-bust cycle of generous government funding in economic booms and budget cuts during recessions. It's easy to justify almost any project when you know that leaving money on the table means it may not be there when you do need it.
- jwhitlark 17y agoThis isn't a problem unique to educational institutions, it affects most entities that practice standard budgeting. That's one reason why I favor zero-based budgets, although they have their own problems. (frequently take longer, more work, etc.)