Despite these reforms, Fenwick's administration of the college was evaluated by Stephen Larigaurdelle Dubuisson, a subsequent president of Georgetown, as "wretched". The size of the student body declined, due to the opening of Columbian College and the Washington Seminary nearby, and the college's debts grew, as he viewed pursuing parents for overdue tuition and board distasteful during the economic recession. The reputation of the school suffered due to this. Fenwick attempted to offset this decline by publishing a new prospectus and placing advertisements in newspapers. His administration was markedly hands-off, as he allowed the prefect of studies, Roger Baxter, to manage most of the affairs of the school. Baxter was known for his liberal attitude toward student discipline and in his own consumption of alcohol and alleged unaccompanied visitation of women in the City of Washington; Baxter was later deported to Europe by the provincial superior, Francis Dzierozynski.
