Historically black colleges feeling economy's strain: Painful choices may loom - Errin Haines, Associated Press

Historically black colleges and universities, which for decades have been educating students who can't afford to go - or can't imagine going - elsewhere, have been particularly challenged by the nation's economic meltdown. Enrollments at the schools have declined while endowments have dropped and fund-raising sources have dried up. The same is true at most universities, but often students at black colleges need more aid to stay on course. "What's most difficult for our institutions is that they are tuition-driven," said Michael Lomax, president of the United Negro College Fund. "They don't have large endowments, and even the ones who do have seen a large reduction in the value of those endowments."