Small colleges drive big media attention with loan repayment programs

Boise Bible College and Hiwassee College both garnered media attention this spring after partnering with LRAP Association to offer loan repayment assistance programs (LRAPs) to their prospective students and families.

In addition to helping improve enrollment and retention, colleges that offer LRAPs broadly often receive positive media attention for their commitment to addressing student debt concerns.

Boise Bible College launched their LRAP program, called The BBC Pledge, to help combat their fifth year of declining enrollment. From KTVB: Boise Bible College “has partnered with the LRAP Association to provide significant assistance for students who attend and graduate from Boise Bible College with a four-year Bachelor’s degree.”

The BBC Pledge program is designed to help students enroll, like Micah Nebeker, who “will start his studies at Boise Bible College this August and says the pledge helped solidify his decision to attend.”

“…The uncertainly of the job market will not concern me because I have the Hiwassee Advantage to assist me in paying off my student loans…”

Hiwassee College began offering the Hiwassee Advantage, their LRAP program, to students enrolling this fall. Hiwassee College is the first college in Tennessee to widely offer a loan repayment assistance program. The college launched the program to help improve enrollment and retention as well as to provide valuable assistance to students and parents after graduation. Several regional media outlets, including Fox 17 and The Chattanoogan, have produced stories about the program.

According to The Chattanoogan, Dr. Robin Tricolo, President of Hiwassee College, said “We believe so strongly in our academic programming we are investing in this program for our students to provide them with a cutting-edge advantage.”

Additionally, sophomore Kendra King said “…the uncertainty of the job market will not concern me because I have the Hiwassee Advantage to assist me in paying off my student loans if things do not go according to plan, and I take comfort in that.” Hiwassee College is on track to meet their enrollment goals this fall, in part thanks to its new LRAP initiative.

Visit our Case Studies page to learn about other colleges using LRAP to drive enrollment success. Contact us for pricing and to learn how to start an LRAP program on your campus.