The Kansas Board of Regents and many other Kansans are rightfully concerned about the rising cost of tuition and fees at state universities.

At the same time, however, universities are experiencing another trend that seems to dampen some of the concern about the financial pressures and potentially crushing debt facing many university students.

A recent story in the Wichita Eagle reports on a housing construction boom at universities across the country that are replacing aging residence halls with new facilities that offer amenities and technology updates that are in high demand among the current generation of college students. The story cited figures from a national group that tracks college construction projects, showing that 52 new residence halls opened last year or will open this year at private and public universities across the country. The facilities, which will house 19,000 students, had a total price tag of more than $2 billion.

Wichita State University is one of those schools. Its new $65 million residence hall and dining facility has a waiting list even though it will cost students a whopping $10,000 to $12,000 a year to live and eat there. At the same time, plenty of space is available at WSU’s older residence halls, which cost about $6,800 a year.

Kansas University and Kansas State University also have announced plans for new residence hall construction. KU will build two new Daisy Hill residence halls that will house about 350 students each. The total cost of the project, including demolition of the outdated McCollum Hall, will be about $48 million. Earlier this month, K-State announced it would name its new eight-story, 540-student residence hall for former chancellor Jon Wefald. The hall is part of a $76 million project that also will include a new dining facility and renovations to two other halls. Rates to live in these new halls haven’t been set, but they almost certainly will be considerably higher than rates at existing, older halls.

There’s no question that universities need to update living facilities to meet current demand and desires. Many university students who are considering living on campus are coming from homes where they didn’t share a bedroom or perhaps even a bathroom. They have access to the latest technology and Internet connectivity. Why would they want anything less when they move to a university campus?

Residence hall costs are independent of tuition and fees, but they nonetheless contribute to the overall cost and potential debt that university students and their families face. Their willingness to pay thousands of dollars more each year for additional housing amenities seems to lend credence to the argument sometimes put forward by university officials in Kansas that their rising tuition and fees aren’t more than their market will bear.