Small Private Colleges Are Struggling to Keep Their Doors Open as Declining Enrollment Leads to Financial Instability

Cabrini University hoped to save itself. Enrollment at the small, Catholic liberal arts college in Radnor, Pennsylvania, had fallen more than 60 percent since 2016, putting the tuition-dependent school with a small endowment under serious financial pressure. When Helen Drinan arrived to serve as interim president in June 2022, she quickly grew concerned that while Cabrini had already made cuts in staffing and other areas, there was more work to be done.