How small is too small?

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This excerpt offers perspective from an earlier era, in the context of Kenyon College:

Between 1955 and 1965, small liberal arts colleges throughout the U.S. were expanding to benefit from economies of scale. They did so with ambivalence, believing their small size was essential in forging close bonds between students and faculty. . . .

The North Central College Association assessment came in the aftermath of a 1963 report of the Ford Foundation that suggested that no college with fewer than 1,500 students could remain solvent after 1975. President Lund had reviewed the report and dismissed its conclusions, saying that an enrollment of 750 students was ideal for Kenyon. Lund declined a Ford Foundation grant to fund enrollment expansion . . . .

(Morice; 2019; Coordinate Colleges for American Women: a Convergence of Interests, 1947-78.)