Building a Showcase University Campus, Using an I.O.U.

Some call it the Edifice Complex. Others have named it the Law of More, or the Taj Mahal syndrome.

A decade-long spending binge to build academic buildings, dormitories and recreational facilities — some of them inordinately lavish to attract students — has left colleges and universities saddled with large amounts of debt. Oftentimes, students are stuck picking up the bill.

“The need for change in higher education is clear given the emerging disconnect between ever-increasing aspirations and universities’ ability to generate the new resources to finance them.”

By ANDREW MARTIN

Full Story: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/14/business/colleges-debt-falls-on-students-after-construction-binges.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&gwh=&ref=business&adxnnlx=1355594809-r+jjpDhIPjvI7bAiSvCKsw&gwh=ECCAB72DC585C701A599F1E6A0A7211B