Patterns in responses of colleges to fiscal stress were assessed. Attention was directed to the responses over a 10-year period, of 23 four-year colleges and universities that were observed in "A Report on the Financial Conditions Project" (1981) by the American Council on Education (ACE) and the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO). Data collection centered around five response categories: operations, programs, faculty, policy development, and severe responses. Analysis involved secondary analysis of the ACE/NACUBO report data for fiscal years (FYs) 1975-1978, and analysis of questionnaire results on institutional responses during FYs 1979-1981 and 1982-1984. In the aggregate, a pattern of responses was found: the less reactive operational and programmatic responses preceded the more reactive responses. With time, measures associated with policy development and faculty adjustments increased. The severe responses, though small in number, were confined to the declining colleges. Disaggregated data showed that behavior of colleges was individualistic, and the potentially more reactive responses from the faculty adjustments and policy development categories were not always associated with decline. Since 1978, faculty participation in planning and implementation of retrenchment strategies increased, and innovative activity increased as a result of fiscal stress. A 10-page literature review precedes the study, which also includes a 30-item bibliography. (SW)