US: Financial chaos threatens universities

Amid a deepening financial crisis that has sapped college endowments, college and university officials are grappling with the growing fear that the Wall Street turmoil could cast a shadow over nearly all their operations, writes Peter Schworm in the Boston Globe. Administrators at small colleges and large universities across the state huddled in tense meetings last week to discuss worst-case contingency plans and appraise their financial status after the market meltdown.

While colleges stopped short of adopting new policies as Boston University did on Tuesday when it froze hiring and halted new construction projects, they are scrutinising everything from budgets and building plans, to how they and their students borrow money.

The stakes are especially high for Massachusetts, where higher education is an economic mainstay and vital to the state's competitiveness.
Full report on the Boston.com site