Facilities debt at U.S. colleges is rising as campuses face underinvestment and a mismatch between space and enrollment, according to the “State of Facilities in Higher Education” report by Gordian. The average deferred maintenance backlog now stands at $156 per gross square foot—nearly double the 2007 figure—and routine maintenance budgets are also strained. Construction activity has fallen to a 40-year low, reducing the ability of new development to offset older maintenance liabilities. Campuses are increasingly “right-sizing” by replacing the most dilapidated buildings with smaller, more flexible learning spaces, while utilities and energy-efficiency gains provide a partial bright spot. The report signals that even as enrollment growth slows, institutions still must handle rising labor and operating costs—making facilities planning and capital strategy a central student and learning-environment risk area.