100 Million Dollar Rec Center

[DaddyChoc]

at UConn... students are requesting it

LINK

 

[meyers7]

Probably an update that is needed from what they have now. I know UMass where my kids went put in a new rec center a year or two ago, a real nice one. According to my son (who's graduating this year), it gets a lot of use.

 

[Cheddie]

Where do they come up with these nice round #'s - $100 million?

 

[John Glass]

Colleges are becoming resorts

 

[WNBARookFan]

Colleges are becoming resorts

Yup. $23,000+/yr. in-state and $42,000+/yr. out-of-state resorts.

 

[John Glass]

Yup. $23,000+/yr. in-state and $42,000+/yr. out-of-state resorts.

Financially mismanaged too. When you have grad assistants teaching classes, and some classes with over a 100 students, how do justify the cost ?

 

[alexrgct]

Since it's coming from student fees, I don't have a huge problem with it if there's student support. Sounds like the graduate students aren't thrilled for the converse reason undergrads may support it. Specifically, if you live on-campus, there really isn't much around you, so campus amenities need to be pretty comprehensive. Of course, if you don't live on campus, and few grad students do, you could always join a gym near where you live and may not want to be forced to fund the on-campus option.

 

[pinotbear]

Colleges are becoming resorts

To some degree, this is true. I worked at Conn College from 1985-1996, and the evolution/upgrade in student facilities was constant: athletic center, student center, dorms remodeled to include A/C, added parking, wiring for internet, etc.,

However, if a school doesn't do this..they're sunk. They will not attract a desirable freshman class if they don't have the bells and whistles that their competition has. And, mom & dad & junior don't look upon this stuff as bells n' whistles - they look upon this stuff as essential.

We can go on at length as to the effect this has on the cost of education, as to whether this changes the focus of a college experience from academic to non-academic, what impact it has on the perceived value of a particular education, but, that's not going to change anything.

I happen to believe that part of the impetus behind this is the changing demographic of the American Family. Baby-boom families were large, and going to college was more the exception than the rule. You were glad to get into a school, and accepted a more spartan enviroment.

Now, American families often have just one or two children. You pour everything into those couple/few kids, and they're used to being the focus of attention. You want the best for them, and you'll go elsewhere if they don't get it.

When I was at Conn College, I proposed (somewhat tongue-in-check) that we should have a rule that no student should be allowed to register a car on campus that costs more than one semester's tuition, room, and board fee. I figured that, if the vehicle they were using to go to the mall on Saturday, or the packy on Friday night, was worth more than a semester's education, then we were gonna have a tough time making them take their classes seriously.

 

[FairView]

They opened a new athletic center at my college when I was a freshman or sophomore. I heard it was nice.

 

[John Glass]

To some degree, this is true. I worked at Conn College from 1985-1996, and the evolution/upgrade in student facilities was constant: athletic center, student center, dorms remodeled to include A/C, added parking, wiring for internet, etc.,

However, if a school doesn't do this..they're sunk. They will not attract a desirable freshman class if they don't have the bells and whistles that their competition has. And, mom & dad & junior don't look upon this stuff as bells n' whistles - they look upon this stuff as essential.

We can go on at length as to the effect this has on the cost of education, as to whether this changes the focus of a college experience from academic to non-academic, what impact it has on the perceived value of a particular education, but, that's not going to change anything.

I happen to believe that part of the impetus behind this is the changing demographic of the American Family. Baby-boom families were large, and going to college was more the exception than the rule. You were glad to get into a school, and accepted a more spartan enviroment.

Now, American families often have just one or two children. You pour everything into those couple/few kids, and they're used to being the focus of attention. You want the best for them, and you'll go elsewhere if they don't get it.

When I was at Conn College, I proposed (somewhat tongue-in-check) that we should have a rule that no student should be allowed to register a car on campus that costs more than one semester's tuition, room, and board fee. I figured that, if the vehicle they were using to go to the mall on Saturday, or the packy on Friday night, was worth more than a semester's education, then we were gonna have a tough time making them take their classes seriously.

The Charmin generation

 

[UcMiami]

Interesting. The problem of course is that you will be increasing the fees on all students and I wonder what percentage of students use those facilities currently and if that percentage will increase significantly with the brand new facility. $500 per year is not a lot of money but it represent an increase of 15% in student fees - in general that kind of increase in fees is met with outrage. I tend to think that kind of money could be better spent on other amenities that might result in higher student percentage use.
There is also a fairly new town facility on the edge of campus - the fees there are higher, but those paying them would presumably be the ones using them frequently.
Not saying that the current facility is adequate - it is one of the large number of rather ugly buildings erected during the 1950's GI Bill fueled expansion of Uconn. I wonder if there would not be a less expensive way to expand and improve that facility rather than creating a new and expensive replacement.

 

[UcMiami]

To some degree, this is true. I worked at Conn College from 1985-1996, and the evolution/upgrade in student facilities was constant: athletic center, student center, dorms remodeled to include A/C, added parking, wiring for internet, etc.,

Interesting - I was there working at CC as TD for the theater department a few years earlier.

I think private schools have very different dynamics from state schools, both in their budgets and in the was they promote to the prospective students.

And the economics of running a school are complex. The costs of fixed infrastructure and its maintenance are huge, the costs of standard required facilities are huge, security costs have skyrocketed in the last thirty years, etc. The salaries for professors while decent have probably not kept up with mom-academic salaries, especially in the sciences. Probably the biggest overall jump has been in administrative cost. And while some sports make money at some schools, the vast majority of team and intramural sports and facilities do not. The athletic departments at most schools are basically money pits and the justification is in 'brand' marketing of the school.

Back to Conn College - I was there when a very wealthy alum donating a huge sum for new athletic facilities - problem for the school was none of their teams made money, and the yearly maintenance of the new facility was going to cost more than the old one by a large amount. It caused quite a debate.

 

[CTGirl15]

The student rec center needs to be updated. It has enough space for a few hundred students at a time, while 10,000 have access (not exact numbers). I have no problem with student fees paying for this, it's what students want and it needs to happen. The old rec center is very, very outdated and very small. The school has grown immensely in the last decade, however the rec center has been left relatively untouched, save for a few changes and modifications.

When I was a student, all the talk was about how crowded and outdated the gym was. People would have to wait in line to use equipment and there was just never enough space. I think this is absolutely a necessary and worthy cause. Is $100 million a lot of money? Absolutely, but it's what students want and it's coming from their fees, I think it's a very good use of that money.

 

[UcMiami]

The student rec center needs to be updated. It has enough space for a few hundred students at a time, while 10,000 have access (not exact numbers). I have no problem with student fees paying for this, it's what students want and it needs to happen. The old rec center is very, very outdated and very small. The school has grown immensely in the last decade, however the rec center has been left relatively untouched, save for a few changes and modifications.

When I was a student, all the talk was about how crowded and outdated the gym was. People would have to wait in line to use equipment and there was just never enough space. I think this is absolutely a necessary and worthy cause. Is $100 million a lot of money? Absolutely, but it's what students want and it's coming from their fees, I think it's a very good use of that money.

Nice post - I would just hope that they take a referendum of the current students presenting them with a few options like 1) Brand new center at a cost to all students of $500/yr.; 2) Renovation/expansion of current facility at $xxx/yr.; 3) Do nothing. I would like this to be supported by a majority in the 1 and 2 category and a majority of those in favor of #1, and not be swayed simply by I am sure a very vocal section of the student body.