Longer Days and Darker Nights as Colleges Adjust to Soaring Energy Costs

By Katherine Mangan

Nestled in a valley in the Appalachian Mountains, Western Carolina University doesn't offer the most stressful of commutes. But in the coming year, the Cullowhee, N.C., university hopes to offer a regional shuttle service and an online carpool program so students and employees can share rides with commuters from four other nearby colleges.

This summer Western Carolina is also offering employees a chance to work four 10-hour days instead of five eight-hour days, an enticing