In 2018, deferred maintenance at Missouri’s 27 public colleges and universities totaled $1.5 billion.
State capital appropriations to public institutions are the traditional mechanism used to fund renovations and maintenance of buildings.
Five states use other funding mechanisms to address deferred maintenance costs.
Over one-third of university buildings are more than 50 years old (Reeves et al, 2021). As facilities age, they require maintenance, such as replacing heating and cooling systems, and renovations for safety and accessibility. Public universities rely on state funding, known as capital appropriations, for construction and maintenance. In all states, capital appropriations are uncertain from year to year (Weeden 2022). When funding is available, universities prioritize constructing new buildings, technology infrastructure, or amenities to attract top students and faculty (Shaw 2024, Reeves et al. 2021).
Deferred maintenance is measured in cost per gross square foot (gsf) of facility space (Wenzel 2025). Costs typically focus on education and general (E&G) buildings, excluding residential buildings and other spaces not central to the institution’s mission (SUS 2021). In 2020, the national backlog of deferred maintenance was approximately $100/gsf (Reeves et al. 2021). In 2024, the estimated cost was more than $140/gsf (Gordian 2025). Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are particularly vulnerable. They face smaller endowments, lower tuition revenue, and century-old buildings compared to Predominantly White Institutions (GAO 2018, MDHE 2018). HBCUs saw an average increase in deferred maintenance expenses of 19% between 2021 and 2024 (Thurgood Marshall College Fund 2024).
In Fiscal Year (FY) 2021, states funded nearly $13B in capital appropriations. This is roughly 12% of total state funding for higher education (Weeden 2022). Once allocated, these funds only covered two thirds of deferred maintenance costs (Gordian 2025).
In response to this gap, some states enacted mechanisms in addition to the traditional capital appropriations process. These include:
In addition, colleges and universities may raise student tuition and fees or issue bonds to make up for this shortfall (Kunkle et al. 2025). Arizona is the only state where state appropriations make up less than half (49%) of its funding with 43% from local sources like tuition (Kunkle et al. 2025).
As of 2018, the backlog of deferred maintenance on education and general buildings at MO’s public colleges and universities totaled $1.5 billion, or $40/gsf (MDHE 2018). The cost per gsf varies between four-year universities but is generally lower than the national average (Figure 1). Institutions have taken steps to reduce this backlog.
In 2017, the University of Missouri implemented a Strategic Space Reduction Plan, closing aging campus buildings with high maintenance and repair needs. As of February 2023, this plan reduced total building expenses by $92 million (Campus Facilities Operations 2023).
In 2015, Missouri University of Science and Technology began modernizing their HVAC and lighting systems to increase energy efficiency. This project reduced the university’s carbon footprint by 57%, deferred maintenance by $60 million, and operations costs by $1.2 million (NCHEMS 2023).
For FY 2026, the Department of Higher Education & Workforce Development requested $27 million, about 2.3% of total funding for institutions of higher learning, to address deferred maintenance (MO Senate 2025). This request was denied by the General Assembly and $0 were appropriated for deferred maintenance in the final MO FY 2026 budget.
Figure 1. Education and general (E&G) buildings deferred maintenance at MO public four-year universities. Data from MDHE 2018. Numbers are calculated by dividing the university’s total deferred maintenance by its gross square feet of E&G building space. The yellow line represents the national average ($140/gsf) (Gordian 2025).
References
An Act to Reappropriate the Balances of Capital Improvement Appropriations for the Institutes of Higher Education; and for Other Purposes, Arkansas Code § 79 (2025). https://arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2025R%2FPublic%2FACT79.pdf
Campus Facilities Operations (2023) MU Space Reduction and Strategic Relocation Plan Quarterly Update 17. https://masterplan.missouri.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/02/Space-Reduction-and-Strategic-Relocation-Quarterly-Memo-17-Feb-2023-gjm-Final9.pdf
GAO (2018) Action Needed to Improve Participation in Education’s HBCU Capital Financing Program. https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-18-455.pdf
Gordian (2025) The State of Facilities in Higher Education 12th edition. The State of Facilities in Higher Education, 12th Edition | Gordian
H.54, 194th, regular session. (MA. 2025). https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H54
HB 940, Regular Legislative Session, 2025. (LA. 2025). https://legis.la.gov/legis/BillInfo.aspx?i=247161
HB 1581, 104th, regular session. (IL. 2025). https://www.ilga.gov/Legislation/BillStatus/FullText?GAID=18&DocNum=1581&DocTypeID=HB&LegId=0&SessionID=114
HB7288 Regular Legislative Session, 2025 (CT. 2025). https://www.cga.ct.gov/2025/TOB/H/PDF/2025HB-07288-R00-HB.PDF
Kansas Campus Restoration Plan. Kansas Statues Annotated (2024) § 76-7159 https://kslegislature.gov/li_2024/b2023_24/measures/sb18/
Kentucky Revised Statutes (2024) § 13A.010(9) https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/24rs/hb6.html
Kunkle K, Burns R (2025) State higher education finance report. State Higher Education Executive Offers Association (SHEEO). State Higher Education Finance - SHEF
Long-Range Building Appropriations. Montana Code Annotated (2023) https://archive.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0170/chapter_0070/part_0020/sections_index.html
Missouri Department of Higher Education (MDHE) (2018) Facility Review: A report on the condition of facilities at Missouri’s public colleges and universities. https://web.archive.org/web/20181227105134/https://dhe.mo.gov/initiatives/documents/facilityreview2018.pdf
MO House of Representatives (2025) Budget Tracking - After Veto. Fiscal Year 2026. https://house.mo.gov/AppropriationNotes.aspx?fileid=563
MO Senate (2025) Truly Agreed and Finally Passed (After Veto). https://www.senate.mo.gov/25info/Comm/BudgetNotes/BudgetNotes/HB%203%20-%20DHEWD%20FY26%20(After%20Veto).pdf
NCHEMS (2023) Study on Higher Education Performance Funding and Efficiency/Reform. https://nchems.org/wp-content/uploads/Missouri-Final-Report-230703-Clean-DRAFT-References-Removed.pdf
Nebraska Revised Statute (2024) § 85-1402 https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=85-1402
Reeves P, Mason S, Sander L (2021) A National Study of Capital Infrastructure at Colleges and Schools of Agriculture., Gordian. https://www.aplu.org/wp-content/uploads/a-national-study-of-capital-infrastructure-at-colleges-and-schools-of-agriculture-an-update-1.pdf
Shaw JS (2024) How Long Can Universities Defer Maintenance? The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal. https://jamesgmartin.center/2024/11/how-long-can-universities-defer-maintenance/
State University System of Florida (SUS) (2021) The Issue of “Deferred Maintenance” within the State University System https://www.flbog.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Plan-for-addressing-SUS-deferred-maintenance-1.pdf
Thurgood Marshall College Fund (2024) HBCU Infrastructure Needs. https://tmcf.org/wp-content/uploads/HBCU-Infrastructure-Needs-Fact-Sheet-2024-Updated-Finals-2.pdf
University of Arizona (2024) Capital Improvement Plan Fiscal Years 2026 – 2029. Arizona Board of Regents. https://www.azregents.edu/sites/default/files/reports/2026-2029-UofA-Capital-Improvement-Plan.pdf
Weeden, D (2022) Issue brief: state capital appropriations for public higher education fiscal years 2020 and 2021. State Higher Education Executive Offers Association (SHEEO) https://shef.sheeo.org/capital-appropriations-for-higher-education/
Wenzel K (2025) How to Calculate Square Footage in Your Facility, the Easy Way. AkitaBox. https://home.akitabox.com/blog/how-to-calculate-square-footage/#:~:text=1.,benchmarking%20for%20operations%20and%20maintenance.
