The article “Worried about rising costs, Bates plans budget cuts,” by Sun Journal reporter Steve Collins (Jan. 10, Page B1), poignantly invokes the question: Have today’s liberal arts colleges become more like businesses rather than remaining institutions of higher learning?
Sadly, Mr. Collins’ piece never alludes directly, or even indirectly, to how the quality of education at Bates will or will not be affected by budget cuts. It goes without saying a college must be run with fiscal efficiency, but Collins’ article gives short shrift to Bates’ most important constituency: the student body.
The last paragraph, on Page B6, in which Mr. Collins quotes Geoffrey Swift, Bates College treasurer, says it all: “Swift said that cutting non-personnel costs ‘ensure [sic] we retain capacity for compensation increases’ and have the money ‘to invest in better services or new ways of doing business.’ ”
Albert Black
Ogunquit
This letter has been edited on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023, at 1:17 p.m. to remove the reference to Lyceum, an online course registration platform used at Bates College.
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.