为什么我们要花这么多时间寻找奖学金?为什么我们必须经历免费申请学生援助，更广为人知的是FAFSA?为什么我们中有那么多人在毕业后会负债累累?为什么上大学要花这么多钱?唉，很少有学生能完全忽视这个问题，但现在似乎有些声音已经给出了答案。最近，安德里亚·尼尔(Andrea Neal)在《印第安纳波利斯星报》(Indianapolis Star)上发表了一篇专栏文章，指出印第安纳州各地的大学都在不停地建设，这消耗了如此多的教育经费，从而推高了大学学位的成本。与此同时，《高等教育纪事报》报道说，为了应对房地产市场的紧缩和迫在眉睫的财政危机，全国的几个立法机构已经收紧了对大学财政的控制。但是，各大学似乎仍在继续推进建设计划。亚利桑那州的三所公立大学实际上利用住房危机为他们的建设计划辩护，建议这样的投资可以创造就业机会。亚利桑那州的计划包括一项偿债计划，该计划将建设计划的付款推迟到未来很长一段时间，给该州带来了很大的负担。 Such debt financing is exactly the practice that Neal attacks within Indiana.\nIt is suggested that by buying now and paying later, public universities (and the state legislature) lack an incentive to stop spending. In theory, debt financing spreads the costs out over time thus minimizing the costs to all those involved. In actuality, if too much debt piles up, the universities and the states that support them could end up with a different kind of fiscal crisis later. \nFor now, however, we don’t necessarily believe that the current campus construction plans at IU represent this kind of problem. \nTake, for instance, the new $203 million plan to construct six new major facilities on campus. Such a plan may seem expensive, and ascertaining the true value these new buildings would provide for the campus is admittedly tricky. Still, many of the projects seem well worth the effort. A new $47 million international studies building would house many of the language programs IU is known for and would help us build on our reputation as one of the most internationally focused universities in the country. A $44 million state-of-the-art music-practice facility would only enhance the prestige of the Jacobs School of music and would help it attract even more of the best students in the world. \nOf all these programs, so far only one (an $80 million project to rebuild Ashton Residence Center) would require approval by the Indiana General Assembly because of its debt financing. \nCritics like Neal, who argue that the methods of the Indiana General Assembly for appropriating funds for higher education are flawed, make plenty of good points. \nSo far, though, the excesses they fear do not seem to be occurring at IU. The projects here seem well worth the investment.
