How did Lancaster Bible College manage 100 percent growth in a five-year timeframe?

A modern, scalable platform kept pace with growth and new locations.

We wanted to expand, but also maintain our reputation for highly personalized student service.

– Lancaster Bible College

The Challenges

Before its accelerated growth phase, Lancaster Bible College (LBC) hit its capacity for how many students it could engage effectively using its existing infrastructure, processes, and staffing levels.

“With the increased demand and labor intensity, we were potentially missing important opportunities to be the relational hero to our prospects and students,” they said. “We wanted to expand, but also maintain our reputation for highly personalized student service. The pace, however, was exhausting our team.”

As LBC looked to expand to additional locations, as well as rapidly grow its online programs, it became clear that it would need a new technology foundation. With a scalable, next-generation student information system, LBC would be able to continue deploying its platform as new locations and students were added and increase engagement capacity and effectiveness at the same time.

About

Lancaster Bible College

Institution Type: Private Faith-Based College

Location: Lancaster, PA, Philadelphia, PA and Washington, DC

Student Population: 2,000+

Anthology Products

The Solutions

The two key criteria that drove LBC’s selection process were scalability and sustainability. After a review of competing vendor solutions, LBC selected Anthology Student for its new platform. Within Student, LBC chose four modules to further enhance functionality, configurability, automated processes, and engagement: Forms Builder, Workflow, Financial Aid Automation, and Portal.

Transformative results

Expanded classrooms and online programs to four states

Named one of central PA’s top colleges and universities in 2017

2x

Enrollment Boosted

Doubled enrollment over five years from 1,000 to 2,000 students

No. 3

Wall Street Journal Award

Named #3 school in the nation for career preparation by Wall Street Journal

No. 2

Praised by alumni in national poll

Ranked #2 in the nation for students recognizing their alma mater as the right choice

Epilogue

Student Satisfaction and Success

Measuring LBC’s achievement over the years goes beyond enrollment numbers or additional campuses. In a recent national survey of graduates from a wide range of institutions throughout the country, the respondents were asked if their programs and institutions had met their needs, and whether they would recommend their alma maters to other students. Lancaster Bible College was ranked #2 for student satisfaction, above other high-ranking institutions such as Dartmouth and Drexel. “In the end, this is what we’re trying to achieve,” the college said. “The results mean we’re fulfilling our mission in preparing faith-based students for the future, and by extension, also making the right decisions from an IT perspective to meet their needs.”