How many colleges does a state need?

Writing for the Dakota Voice, Gordon Garnos points to some work by South Dakota's market-focused think tank, the Great Plains Public Policy Institute, suggesting that perhaps the state has all the campuses it needs. Says Garnos (in part):

In a recent "Thinkaboutit" memo [institute president Ron] Williamson noted there are 29 other public and private statewide higher education campuses and facilities besides our six public universities. That includes private and tribal colleges and our four technical institutes.

These 35 campuses and facilities across the entire state are for a population of some 770,000 residents where the student population is declining, he says.

And yet, Garnos points out, a number of new facilities are being planned or are already underway. For most services, market demand would normally answer the question of "how much is enough," but the system of higher education has a large political component to it, making it vulnerable to empire building by ambitious politicians.

With the rise of virtual learning, public officials ought to think long and hard before spending taxpayer dollars to build new bricks-and-mortar facilities.