There will be no discounts at all at Holy Cross! They gave better reasons this time - new technology, new teacher training to improve quality of on line learning etc. The costs of delivering online is more for colleges because they have to pay the teachers, they have the classrooms just sitting there and they need new technology. However if you really think about it they are passing on the costs of new software and technology onto the current students when they should be capitalizing these costs. They are not one time operating costs, they are improvements in PP&E (been years since accounting for me tho). I would think this is where an endowment would be helpful.
The only other logical ask that I can think of is that you are sending kids home a month early. However you are keeping them during fall break and maybe starting them a week or a few days early. Our kids will be there 2-3 weeks less than if they went back post Thanksgiving for finals. That could mean a small discount on Room and Board and meals but its not being offered. So I have sent in full payment. I have made my mental adjustments of what I think they should have done and when they come calling for donations they will hear my reasoning for not giving for a number of years. That is how I get my control which I obviously crave.