Associated Press
 
November 17, 2008
 
PORTLAND, Ore. -- College officials across the nation are wondering whether the economic downturn will mean the closure of more institutions such as Cascade College in Portland.
 
The small Christian school of 280 students is $4 million in debt and says it will have to shut down at the end of the current year.
 
President Bill Goad says the school struggled 15 years to gain students and donors but fell short of its goal of 500 enrollment.
 
The college is affiliated with the Churches of Christ and is a branch of Oklahoma Christian University.
 
Another Christian institution, Taylor University, announced last month it would close the undergraduate program at a branch campus in Fort Wayne, Indiana, while Pillsbury Baptist Bible College in Minnesota announced plans to close.
 
Officials of small colleges say they are particularly vulnerable to a major economic slowdown because they don't have large endowments.