Just moderated a roundtable of campus finance experts about building a student-centered institution amid the pandemic. There'll be a transcript! But here’s what struck me: 1. The sheer scale of investments colleges have made to get thru spring + have a safe/functional fall.

One guest was from a 2,000-student college that’s spent nearly $10 million. They’ve housed/fed dozens of international students who couldn’t go home. Another, from a public regional, said they've spent tens of millions. To be clear, there were no super rich colleges in the group.

2. ROI/outcomes are usually king in campus business offices, but it's not a focus now. Even the number-crunchers say they’re just trying to do the right thing for students. Whether it’s student needs for virtual learning or financial aid, colleges are depleting reserves to do it.

3. Enrollment is the big data piece that's on the mind. But there’s also discussion about virtual student success/engagement metrics (how often are students logging into the LMS? how much time are they spending on a resource webpage? what do those say about student needs/gaps?).

4. Layoffs are coming. Community colleges can’t preserve every degree program. Small private colleges can’t keep employing the entire theatre staff. Some on campus are still in denial. When you talk to the CFOs who call the budgetary shots, it’s clear they are just as devastated.

5. Communication is everything. Campus finance folks are spending huge amounts of time this summer explaining decisions to students and staff, and they're going to keep doing so this fall. Minimizing confusion is the only way to get through this.