To the Editor:

I read "Negative Credit Ratings Reflect Financial Strain on Small Colleges" (The Chronicle, July 20) with great interest. While I would suggest that most colleges and universities in the country—large and small, public and private, well endowed and tuition-dependent—have faced significant challenges in the past two years, I challenge the generalization that colleges with enrollments of 1,500 are too small to thrive today. Our institution, Oglethorpe University, has an enrollment of just over 1,100, and we have experienced the two strongest financial years in our 175-year history.

How could that be? First, we are a low-endowment, tuition-dependent institution. The 17-percent drop we saw in our endowment in 2008 impacted our budget very little (about $100,000 a year). Many of the larger, wealthier institutions have been devastated by the decrease in their billion-dollar-plus endowments. Second, the public institutions with which we compete in the State of Georgia, like public institutions in virtually every state, have suffered massive cuts in budgets because of lower tax revenue. Third, families remain deeply committed to the idea of value, and any determination of value includes a consideration of cost and quality.

On those scores, small colleges such as Oglethorpe—which are among the most efficient organizations I know of—come out very well. Enrollment is up, net tuition is up, and philanthropic support is up, even in this difficult economic environment.

Lawrence M. Schall
President
Oglethorpe University
Atlanta