You raised an issue here that I haven’t seen yet elsewhere. What is the impact of required fiber and bandwidth to an institution’s bottom line? It would be fascinating to see the relative cost of technology adoption, maintenance, and upgrades as a part of the university budget over time. Is technology today more expensive, and how does that impact student fees, research overhead, and capital projects? Strong wifi is basically viewed as a right, but there are real costs in keeping up with ever-increasing demand.

I enjoyed your analysis and reflection about BYU and Virginia Tech. Although Virginia Tech is a public, secular institution, one of the defining characteristics of the university is a commitment to others, through service, as captured in our motto, “Ut Prosim.” However, it is also interesting to learn about how the university supports the development of the whole person, including through nurturing opportunities and connections with communities of faith in the New River Valley [https://vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2017/07/070517-dsa-kshushok.html].

One thing Virginia Tech gets right, either intentionally or organically, is the sense of larger purpose that imbues our student body. Perhaps this is a bit off topic from the mission analysis, but I hadn’t thought of the similarities between BYU and VT until reading your reflection. If any mandate is important for higher education in general right now, it is to emphasize a renewed sense of community and commitment to the ‘other’, and encouraging service is once such way to encourage this.

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