How Wittenberg University Grew Enrollment 38%

November 2, 2026

Case Studies

Key Takeaways:

Enrollment grew 38% while discount fell 5 points in Wittenberg’s first year offering LRAPs to all incoming students.
LRAPs became part of Wittenberg’s value proposition, reinforcing the university’s confidence in the value of its degree.
Implementation mattered. Staff training, consistent messaging, and direct outreach by Ardeo to nearly 2,900 families helped bring the strategy to life.

“Yeah, we’re that Springfield.”

Mike Brown doesn’t shy away from it: Wittenberg University has had some challenging years.

Like many institutions, Wittenberg was competing for a shrinking pool of in-state students. Enrollment had fallen from more than 2,000 students to around 1,000 in the last decade.

Then Springfield landed in the national spotlight for all the wrong reasons. (Think cats and dogs.)

For an enrollment leader trying to rebuild momentum, none of this made the job easier.

But Mike, Wittenberg’s Vice President of Enrollment Management, saw another way to tell the university’s story.

Believe in Wittenberg? Back it up.

“We believe so much in the education you’re going to get here and that you’re going to be successful, we’re going to offer this to you.”

“This” was a Loan Repayment Assistance Program, or LRAP.

And Mike wanted to offer it to everyone.

From 20 LRAPs to All-In

This wasn’t Mike’s first experience with LRAPs.

At previous institutions, he used it tactically: give counselors a small number of LRAPs and let them decide when an offer might get a student across the finish line.

It worked.

But there was a problem.

As Mike puts it, you’re asking a young admission counselor to recognize when a family is worried about money, start a conversation they may not want to have, and decide – in the moment – whether an LRAP could change their decision.

“That’s very difficult,” Mike said.

So at Wittenberg, he flipped the strategy.

Don’t wait for the “right” moment. Don’t make counselors guess. Offer an LRAP to every incoming first-year and transfer student.

Now LRAP wasn’t a closing tool.

It was part of the Wittenberg story.

13 Days to Launch

Mike started by taking his experience with Ardeo to Dr. Christian M. M. Brady, Wittenberg’s president. He made the case financially and showed Dr. Brady how it would impact the bottom line for the university. He then connected it to the value proposition:

“We are showing the students that we believe in the value of the education they receive at Wittenberg and are backing up that belief in a tangible way.”

The university decided to move forward with offer to all on Sept. 17.

The launch call happened Sept. 30.

Then came the part Mike says matters most: actually using it.

“It’s not something to set and forget,” he said. “LRAP needs to be part of all that you’re doing.”

Ardeo trained Wittenberg’s team, joined campus events, and contacted nearly 2,900 families on the university’s behalf.

For Mike, that support made a difference.

“The calling has been fantastic,” he said. “Coming to campus and talking to our prospective students at our events has been very impactful.”

And families heard the message again and again:

Wittenberg believes in the value of a Witt degree.

Enough to stand behind it.

“We’re asking families to believe in Wittenberg,” Mike said. “LRAP gives us a way to show them Wittenberg believes in them, too.”

Then the Numbers Came In.

LRAPs helped Wittenberg grow Fall 2026 enrollment 38% year over year and reduce discount by 5 points.

But numbers alone can’t quite capture what LRAP meant to the students who chose Wittenberg.

One student put it this way:

“LRAP made it possible for me to attend Wittenberg.”

Another:

“LRAP helped me by taking away a lot of the fear about student loans and my future.”

Here’s how Mike thinks about it:
“Do I think LRAP got us all that growth? Of course not. Enrollment doesn’t work that way. But did it help change the conversation with families and help more of them choose Wittenberg? Absolutely.”