"There's definitely been an increase in construction activity on college campuses since the recession," said Dan Kenney, head of campus planning and site design for Sasaki Associates, a Massachusetts-based planning and design firm.

The new spending reflects pent-up demand as schools from Yale University to the University of Texas try to elevate their missions and find ways to attract and retain students.

Private schools, which aren't bound by state education dollars, are leading the way.

Many of the construction projects focus on student centers and housing, because schools believe students who live on campus are more likely to graduate, Kenney said. The University of Kentucky has added more than 5,700 residence hall beds, including five new residence halls with a total of 2,381 beds, since 2013.

Other projects involve renovating aging structures and erecting new ones to bring in more students.

Yale, in New Haven, Connecticut, announced in June it had raised $500 million to build two new residential colleges in its largest expansion since the Ivy League school began admitting women in 1969, allowing it to increase undergraduate enrollment to 6,200, up from about 5,400.

The University of Texas broke ground in August on a $295 million medical school. The school also wants to spend $100 million to renovate a chemistry building and $105 million in improvements in its business school.

Notre Dame, which has one of the largest construction projects underway, is bucking the trend by focusing on research facilities. Many schools are hesitant to spend money on research facilities because of concerns that federal funding will dry up.

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