August 1, 2008

Bad Economy Could Harm Smaller Colleges

By SCOTT CARLSON

Remember the generally positive outlook on higher education that Moody's Investors Service issued in January? Scratch that.

Although the bond-rating company says that the industry has a generally stable outlook in a six-month update of that report released in July, it notes that worsening economic conditions could lead to trouble, particularly for small, private colleges that draw locally; local community colleges; and regional or less-selective publics.

Higher education has