Click to hear the story: For one, as colleges furloughed campus staff at the outset of the pandemic, McHenry County College had a different idea. They trained some staff, like cafeteria workers and exercise instructors, to be “navigators” for students in online classes -- answering financial aid questions and helping with tech issues. That’s one of the reasons Gabbard thinks they avoided an enrollment collapse. “The second thing that I think was a difference-maker," he said, "is that money started coming in from various resources like the federal CARES Act." Gabbard said they streamlined applications for aid, so they were able get money to students impacted by COVID faster than other schools.