Endowment Losses Threaten No-Loan Policies as Guarantees Vanish

August 25, 2009, Bloomberg — Swarthmore College, perennially ranked among the top liberal arts colleges, was among a select few to replace loans with grants to 50 percent of its 1,500 students as the endowment peaked at $1.4 billion two years ago.

Today, following an estimated investment loss of 17.5 percent in the year ending June 30, Swarthmore has frozen salaries, reduced its budget by 7 percent and allowed a financial planning group to scrutinize the entire budget for additional cuts that may include loan-free packages for future students, according to Suzanne Welsh, vice president for finance and treasurer.