State schools face credit crunch of their own - SCOTT WALDMAN, Albany Times Union

State funding cuts are making public universities vulnerable to bond-rating downgrades, according to a new report. That means it could be harder for schools to borrow money, according to Moody's Investors Service. Moody's gave a negative outlook to the entire higher education sector in November 2009. The economic strain on college and universities has multiple causes, including depressed state economies, state budget imbalances and a dependence on temporary federal stimulus dollars to sustain university funding, according to Moody's analyst Dennis Gephardt, the report's author.