Case Studies
Key Takeaways:
- After meeting its enrollment goal for Fall 2026, Colorado Christian University asked incoming students what influenced their decision.
- More than half pointed to LRAPs in CCU’s Admitted Student Research.
- The findings reinforced what CCU already suspected: LRAPs help influence enrollment decisions.
Rina Campbell asks a lot of questions.
Not to challenge the room or prove she has the answers.
She asks because she wants to understand what works.
Over the last few years, the Assistant Vice President of Traditional Enrollment at Colorado Christian University has been gathering evidence around this question:
How much do LRAPs influence enrollment?
This year, Rina added that question to the university’s admitted student research.
More than half (56.2%) of incoming students said LRAPs were highly or moderately influential in their decision to enroll.
It was the clearest answer yet – but not the only one.
Addressing Student Loan Concerns at Colorado Christian University
With a roughly $63,000 total cost before aid, Rina knows families experience sticker shock.
She also knows many CCU families are worried about taking on student loans.
“Ardeo’s LRAPs were one of the first enrollment initiatives I launched when I started at CCU. Many of our families are loan averse. They believe in the value of a CCU education, but the idea of borrowing loans can be scary.”
Rina says it didn’t take long to get buy-in from the cabinet because LRAPs fit naturally with how CCU already talks about its value.
Two of the university’s four core values are:
Intentionally Affordable.
Exceptionally Employable.
Rina saw LRAPs as a way to put something tangible behind those words.
“If we position ourselves as intentionally affordable and exceptionally employable, we must demonstrate to families how we deliver on that promise.”
LRAPs help repay federal, private, and parent PLUS loans if income after graduation is modest, which is particularly relevant for students entering fields like theology, music and the arts, where starting salaries may be lower.
But the message is bigger than that.
CCU is willing to stand behind the education it asks families to invest in.
Measuring LRAPs’ Impact on Enrollment
Since Rina used LRAPs at her prior institution, she was able to compare CCU’s results with what she’d seen previously. The results lined up, but Rina wanted to better understand how well LRAPs were working at CCU.
So, she looked at the evidence from several angles.
The admitted student research offered one answer: More than half (56.2%) of incoming students said LRAPs influenced their decision to enroll.
The enrollment numbers offered another.
CCU enrolled 258 students with LRAPs.
Additionally, CCU’s Fall 2026 enrollment grew 15% year over year, and the university met its enrollment goal for the first time in several years.
The financial return was strong, too: 5.6x return.
Finally, there was the anecdotal evidence from families.
“Without the LRAP, I would not have considered CCU as a serious option.”
– Naomi H., LRAP Award Recipient
“CCU is one of my top choices. However, it is also one of the most expensive colleges I am considering. With the LRAP award, my parents and I are less anxious about affording CCU and repaying the necessary loans after graduation.”
– Zy I., LRAP Award Recipient
“Fear over post-grad debt and my family’s inability to help me has been burdensome in this decision-making process. I’m grateful to know we can make this work.”
– Alayna F., LRAP Award Recipient
Every enrollment professional knows that no single strategy explains an enrollment result.
However, when taken all together, the numbers gave Rina good reason to believe LRAPs were doing what CCU hoped they would: helping students feel more confident saying yes.
“Enrollment is never one thing. But when you have growth and more than half of your incoming students tell you LRAPs influenced their decision, you pay attention.”
Turning LRAPs Into an Enrollment Strategy
Like most successful enrollment initiatives, Rina says you get what you put in.
Rina talks about LRAPs at preview events. It appears in financial aid communications. Admissions and Financial Aid are trained to explain it.
And before Ardeo begins outreach, CCU tells families to expect it.
That extra step makes a difference because Rina hears one comment again and again:
This sounds too good to be true.
“The LRAP can sound almost too good to be true, so families sometimes ask whether it’s real. We assure them that it is, and that CCU is proud to offer it to their student.”
For Rina, these actions are the difference between simply having a campus initiative vs. an enrollment strategy.
“Value alone doesn’t drive enrollment. Communicating that value is what turns an initiative into a strategy.”
Colorado Christian has the enrollment result it wanted.
And Rina now has something she values almost as much:
Evidence that LRAPs are helping students say yes to CCU.