Many public-university administrators are watching from the sidelines as the nation's credit markets seize up, trying to assess the impact on universities' and state bonding agencies' ability to issue debt. Already, California and Massachusetts have asked for federal help to cope with bills because municipal-bond markets remain largely closed. Interviews with finance and facilities administrators at more than a dozen state universities or college systems across the country suggest that, thus far, few public colleges have been forced to scale back, delay, or cancel long-term construction projects because of the current financial turmoil. In addition, most of them say they expect to be able to borrow to pay for future construction, albeit at higher interest rates than in recent years.