I'll take a guess and say easy access to credit for creditless students. Plus universities have big 5 year plans with that money; money allocated before the rec

I'll take a guess and say easy access to credit for creditless students. Plus universities have big 5 year plans with that money; money allocated before the recession. So most of the capital improvement projects were started when students, parents, and gov't were looser with the purse strings. And universities somehow never follow the rules of economics. Scales of economy fail to kick in when they should. Large schools get larger and the price per student creeps up, never down. And the building projects get more extravagant and expensive. At my alma mater you see where the money is going. Old buildings were built like a brick shithouse. Strong and cheap with a fallout shelter. The new ones look like the set designer of MTVs Real World was given the comission. Instead of 2 per room. One student a room for a spacious 4 room suite. Instead of brick and stone we've got glass and steel. This wouldn't be bad if alumni paid for them, but when they are named "New student residence 2008" it means they are waiting for a large donation for a building thats already built and paid for by students.