Some university endowments, including UT, lost a fourth of their value last year - HOLLY K. HACKER, The Dallas Morning News

Endowments at several Texas universities lost about a quarter of their value last year, a new study shows. But college officials say they're better off than those scary-looking endowment numbers suggest. The University of Texas System's endowment – the fifth-largest of any university or college system in the country – fell from $16.2 billion in 2008 to $12.2 billion in 2009. Texas A&M System's endowment fell from $6.7 billion to $5.1 billion. And the private Southern Methodist University saw its endowment shrink from $1.4 billion to $1 billion. Universities typically spend 4 to 5 percent of their endowments each year.