Cutbacks at MC are necessary

To the Editor:

Professor Frederick Schweitzer asked, in his letter to the editor (Feb. 15), “What will become of Manhattan College?”

Small and medium private colleges face multiple challenges. Looking forward, two trends impact demand for a college education – changing demographics and changing student desires. The future holds a decrease in college age students and today’s students are less likely to choose a liberal arts degree. In 2022, for example, six undergraduate students graduated with a degree in History (source: College Navigator, NCES data) from Manhattan College.  

Another challenge that private schools face is their cost. I graduated from Manhattan in 1980 when tuition was $4,200 for the entire year. According to the BLS inflation Calculator, that is $16,649 in 2024 dollars. College Navigator indicates that 2022-2023 tuition was $48,658 – almost three times that of 1980 (yes, some students pay lower rates).

Financing college expenses is also a factor. I borrowed about 30 percent of my college tuition expenses. At that time student loans were offered at low interest rates, by the federal government. I paid back these loans over a 10-year period. The low interest rate student loans were eliminated during the Reagan administration and commercial banks stepped in. Today, a student who would make my same choices would have a commercial loan portfolio that would require a high-paying career – to pay it off within 10 years – if at all.  

So the challenges that Manhattan faces today are different than those the school faced during Professor Schweitzer’s tenure. Manhattan’s options are also more limited; the rare book collection has already been sold.  

I cannot answer the professor’s insightful question. But I view President Riverso’s actions as necessary hard choices for the survival of Manhattan College. 

Robert Meade 
Manhattan College
Class of 1980