"Just as many of our programs have adapted to both an on-campus and remote element, we are seeing many opportunities to use mobile technology to collaborate with our surrounding communities to provide dining services to our students in the years ahead," said Mike Henderson of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

National Student Clearinghouse found first-year students have a 67.2% retention rate, besting pre-pandemic averages. NSCRC defines retention as students who remain at a given institution for their second year instead of transferring, which counts toward persistence.

Many institutions continue to rely on outdated financial planning tools. Nearly 50% still use spreadsheets for forecasting and tuition projections, and nearly a third use spreadsheets for budgeting, according to a Syntellis survey.

"You have to be open to fertility," Decker says. "You can't just sit there and say, 'Nothing's good except what we've been doing for the last 40 years.'"