Turning a Pricing Study into a Strategic Planning Opportunity

THE CHALLENGE:

Loyola University Maryland initially approached Art & Science Group with questions related to tuition pricing, financial aid, and net tuition revenue. Like many institutions during the COVID-19 era, the University wanted to understand whether pricing adjustments or more aggressive financial aid or price-matching strategies could strengthen enrollment outcomes in an increasingly competitive market. As conversations evolved, however, Loyola recognized that the challenge extended beyond pricing alone. The University was simultaneously entering a presidential transition and preparing for strategic planning, creating an opportunity to examine more fundamental questions about institutional positioning, the student experience, and long-term competitive strength.

OUR SOLUTION:

Art & Science Group expanded the engagement beyond a traditional pricing study to examine how prospective students perceived Loyola’s overall value proposition and which institutional initiatives would most meaningfully influence enrollment decisions. Using market research and Simulated Decision Modeling, the study tested not only pricing and aid scenarios, but also a range of potential strategic investments tied to academics, career preparation, experiential learning, wellness, inclusion, and campus life.

The research ultimately demonstrated that Loyola had limited ability to materially strengthen demand through pricing changes alone. Instead, prospective students proved far more responsive to the substance of the Loyola experience and the University’s ability to create and communicate a distinctive, student-centered approach grounded in academic rigor, professional preparation, and student support.

Conducted largely during the height of the pandemic, the work provided Loyola’s leadership team and incoming president with evidence-based guidance at a pivotal institutional moment. The findings helped inform strategic planning discussions by identifying which initiatives were most likely to strengthen market position and student demand over time, while also helping the University avoid reactive changes unlikely to produce meaningful long-term benefit. 

In the years that followed, Loyola experienced five consecutive years of application growth, with applications increasing 38% since 2021. During the same period, the University became increasingly selective, lowering its admit rate by 17 percentage points, while undergraduate enrollment surpassed 4,000 students for the first time in a decade. Loyola also enrolled two of the largest incoming classes in University history and achieved a record-high incoming student GPA profile.