Study Reveals Trends in Funding and Construction at Universities and Colleges

PRINCETON, N.J.-Colleges and universities across the U.S. will have more students and less money for construction projects, according to a study conducted by Hillier Architecture.

In the coming years, a dramatic increase in enrollment triggered by the coming of age of the “echo boomer” generation – children of the baby boomers – is expected to coincide with a significant drop in public funding for capital construction projects on campus, according to the study entitled “Campus Space Crunch: Funding, Planning and Foresight in Higher Education.”

The study is the result of research on 200 colleges and universities nationwide and interviews with 103 campus-planning officials. Questions touched on past and future sources of funding for capital projects, building trends on campus and different approaches to campus master planning.

To address the situation, many colleges and universities are revisiting its campus master plans. One out of every two schools is updating its campus master plan to deal with aging facilities and increased enrollment, according to the study.

Some highlights of the study include:

• Public funding for capital construction is drying up. Only 21 percent of schools in the study expect to receive state funding for capital construction in the future, whereas 60 percent had received it in the past.
• Sustainable design is fast becoming a priority on campuses. Almost 95 percent of schools said that sustainable design issues would play an increasing role in the master planning process and building designs.
• Distance learning has not diminished the need for on-campus facilities. More than 85 percent of schools said that distance learning has not impacted their campus development strategy.
• Campus master plans are a powerful marketing tool for development offices. Some 64 percent of schools use campus master plans to illustrate the school’s long-term vision to prospective donors during the fundraising process.