Contact:
George Leef
georgeleef@jamesgmartin.center
919-828-1400
Raleigh, NC — A new policy brief, From Empty Classrooms to Efficient Campuses: A Market-Based Approach to University Facilities, exposes the widespread inefficiencies in how colleges and universities utilize their buildings and offers bold reforms to reduce waste and improve resource allocation.
Authored by economist Richard Vedder, the brief highlights how many university facilities—classrooms, offices, dormitories, and even entire buildings—sit underutilized for significant portions of the year. Despite declining enrollments and financial challenges, institutions continue to expand their physical footprints, exacerbating budgetary pressures and diverting resources from their core academic mission.
“Too many college campuses resemble ghost towns for months at a time, while students and taxpayers foot the bill for unnecessary construction and maintenance,” said Vedder. “Market-driven solutions—such as internal space pricing, facility leasing, and private-sector partnerships—could dramatically improve efficiency, lower costs, and ensure that universities focus on education rather than real estate management.”
The policy brief identifies key inefficiencies, including:
- Severe underutilization of buildings—many campuses are deserted on weekends, during summers, and even on Fridays.
- Perverse incentives that encourage expansion over optimization.
- Regulatory burdens that inflate construction costs at public universities.
- Misplaced priorities—from extravagant student amenities to neglected maintenance.
To address these issues, the report proposes several reforms, including creating internal markets for space utilization, shifting non-academic facilities to private management, and budgeting for maintenance as part of construction costs.
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