The vice president for enrollment management and marketing at a university in Loyola’s peer group said her university’s freshman class size increased by more than 100 students as a result of their work with Scannell & Kurz.

The consulting firms Scannell & Kurz and the Lawlor Group were brought in to find solutions to Loyola’s enrollment shortfall this year. Universities that both firms have worked with before have said their experiences have been positive.

Janice Supplee, vice president for enrollment management and marketing at Cedarville University in Dayton, Ohio said her university has worked with Scannell & Kurz since 2009. Supplee said that the consulting firm reviewed Cedarville’s financial aid strategies to ensure they used their resources as effectively as possible.

“We completely revamped our financial aid program in 2010, simplifying our awards down to just a few programs and increasing the total amount of awards. The results of our work were very successful as the size of our freshman class increased by more than 100 students and revenue to the institution also increased,” Supplee said via email.

The two firms have different focuses, but the overall goal remains the same: to improve Loyola. Scannell & Kurz will focus on the university’s financial aid program and its effect on enrollment. The Lawlor Group has focused their work on “strategic brand management, institutional marketing and enrollment management” for more than 20 years, according to its website.

The Lawlor Group, based in Eden Prairie, Minn. has worked with almost 180 universities and colleges in North America, according to their website. Scannell & Kurz, from Pittsford, N.Y., lists more than 250 universities in the United States and Canada that it has served, according to their website.

Debra Lukehart, executive director of marketing and communications at Drake University, said that her university retained the Lawlor Group earlier this year to provide services specifically in “consultation services for integrated marketing communications.”

Roberta Kaskel, Loyola’s interim vice president of enrollment management, said the Lawlor Group does not comment on its ongoing engagements with universities.

Supplee said that Cedarville has seen the consulting firm be “very helpful” in finding solutions and strategies for improvement.

“We do view them as partners, not just outside consultants. They seek to offer solutions that fit with who we are as an institution and our distinct mission,” Supplee said via email.

Karl Gommel can be contacted at [email protected]