A campus facilities arms race?

It’s all about the aquatics apparently

I’ve posted before about the growth of luxury student accommodation in the US. Now the Education Advisory Board has a report on what it says amounts to a recreation facilities arms race on US campuses:

Auburn University has a 45-person paw-print shaped hot tub, Pensacola Christian College has a $1 million wave rider, Missouri State University has a zip-line over the pool and a lazy river. Ten schools have AquaClimb pool-side rock walls, 35 more are in the works. According to a 2013 NIRSA study, 92 schools reported a combined $1.7 billion in capital projects.”Aquatics are a huge growth area,” says Jack Patton, leader of RDG Planning and Design’s sports facilities group. They are also the most expensive part of a recreation center to run per square foot.

Officials hope that the amenities will help them stand out in prospective students’ minds.It works. Resort-style facilities boost student enrollment, particularly at less-elite schools, according to a 2013 study from the National Bureau of Economic Research.At the University of Missouri, each tour stops by the “indoor beach club’s” palm trees, lazy river, waterfall, and grotto modeled after the Playboy Mansion’s.

The arms race metaphor is a good one. Is all of this necessary to deliver a good student experience? No, but it does seem to help with recruitment. More palm trees anyone?