Like most private colleges and universities, St. John's College is feeling the effects of the economic downturn.

Its $130 million endowment has taken a hit along with the rest of the market, and school officials are bracing themselves for any changes they might have to make to deal with losses.

Despite concerns, President Michael Peters said the school, which has a campus in Santa Fe and one in Annapolis, Md., is doing a little better than other private institutions and is committed to continuing its mission.

"Fortunately for us, we're down substantially less than the broader markets are," Peters said, estimating losses to the endowment by the end of October were around 15 percent. Some schools are reporting losses of as much as 25 percent. As far as other sources of revenue — donations and tuition — Peters said it's still too early to tell how the school will be affected.

"We haven't seen any evidence that (giving) is going to be affected dramatically," Peters said, though he conceded he won't know for sure until the end of the year, which is when most donations are made.

While the school does admit some so-called "January freshman" — Peters said those numbers are on track with historical statistics — most new applications won't come in until late spring.

"The one thing that we have seen is an increase in the need for financial aid for our students," Peters said.

Parents' income and wealth are being affected by the economy, Peters said, which translates to more students needing more aid. Already, the school gives aid to about two-thirds of its roughly 500 students. The average amount per student is about $20,000 per year, Peters said.

The college, despite a potential drop in revenues and losses in its endowment, does not plan to change the way it administers aid to parents. "We're committed to a need-based financial-aid program, and we're going to stick with it," Peters said. "Our priorities are to maintain the integrity of our academic program and meet the needs of our students."

While few private college and university presidents are being specific about how the economy is affecting their schools, there is a general sense that most are doing everything they can to cut spending and hold off on hiring.

Even some of New Mexico's public universities — funded by the state and expected to be negatively affected by a budget shortfall — are implementing hiring freezes.

Daniel Lopez, president of New Mexico Tech, for example, started a hiring and wage freeze for positions funded by the state in anticipation of bad news. Other schools have made similar moves.

At St. John's, Peters said, no such action has been taken, though that doesn't mean it won't happen. "You can't rule that kind of stuff out," Peters said.

The school is nearing the start of construction on two new buildings in Santa Fe, a new graduate institute and a 25,000-square-foot residence hall, and Peters said those projects won't be affected. Most of the $134 million gathered during a two-year capital campaign, Peters said, was given in cash. "We don't have a substantial number of outstanding pledges," he said.

Santa Fe's only other private institution, the College of Santa Fe, has struggled financially for years because of low enrollment. Officials there are still in partnership talks with Laureate Education Inc., a for-profit group. President Stuart Kirk declined to comment for this story, citing the school's unique financial situation.

Contact John Sena at 986-3079 or jsena@sfnewmexican.com.