This area is strong in pharmaceutical jobs, so we feel very confident. Ketterlinus said she was not worried. Bonds that financed the new dorms are being paid off with student fees. Ketterlinus said Gwynedd-Mercy needed to fill only 60 percent of its dorm rooms to cover the bond payments. Building dormitories, building allegiance Even as Gwynedd-Mercy sought a competitive edge by building facilities, other colleges in the region were doing the same thing.
Elite schools can borrow heavily without much risk, because their assets are so large.
But for small colleges without such a cushion, large construction debts can be risky. That equaled just 20 percent of the college's unrestricted assets - stocks, cash and other holdings that the school could draw on, if necessary, to pay creditors. Albright officials understand the dangers of overbuilding. Enrollment declined, too, reducing tuition revenue. When things finally turned around, Albright officials realized they needed to spend millions of dollars sprucing up campus facilities to hang onto students.