Using Connections to Build Awareness for a New Major

There are nearly 1,000 baccalaureate nursing programs in the United States, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. And, until 2023, 12 of them were in the state of Maryland, according to the Maryland Department of Health. That’s when Loyola University Maryland added one more. So how could a private liberal arts university in Baltimore successfully launch a nursing program in a highly competitive market? 

CHALLENGE

Loyola University Maryland is a private Jesuit institution enrolling approximately 1,100 first-year students each fall with an overall undergraduate and graduate headcount of 5,100. Students choose Loyola for its academic excellence, commitment to Jesuit values like cura personalis (care for the whole person), and the meaningful relationships they form with peers and professors.

In 2023, the university embarked on a bold mission to launch a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) program, which Senior Director of Enrollment Marketing and Communications Genna Mongillo describes as “a major strategic priority and a high-demand addition to our academic offerings.”

But, she explains, “Marketing a brand-new program in an already competitive space came with challenges, especially as we awaited final state approvals and worked to build visibility from the ground up.”

SOLUTION

Connections™ became one of the key platforms that allowed Loyola to reach students interested in health sciences right away and begin sharing the story of its new program. Mongillo explains, “It gave us the opportunity to communicate directly with prospective students at the top of the funnel—especially those who might not have otherwise considered Loyola or known about our expansion into nursing.”

As part of an integrated marketing strategy, Connections both supported that inaugural class enrollment and helped lay the foundation for longer-term awareness of the nursing program and other health-related fields as the university enhances its STEM programming.

 “While Connections represented a small slice of the overall nursing applicant pool, it helped generate early interest during a critical brand-building phase—and it gave us a head start on future cycles. For the classes of 2026, 2027, and 2028, we’ve already had hundreds of students in the platform expressing interest in nursing or health sciences, giving us meaningful opportunity to build engagement over time.”

“Connections gave us a way to stay visible with students who hadn’t yet directly engaged with us elsewhere, and it supported early-stage brand visibility during a time when we were introducing something entirely new.” – Genna Mongillo, Senior Director of Enrollment Marketing and Communications

RESULTS

In their first year offering the BSN, Loyola had 35 seats available—limited due to clinical placement capacity but phasing to ultimately enroll 120 annually. For those 35 spots, they received more than 1,000 applications. 

For Connections specifically, Mongillo reports they’ve received more than 2,000 inquiries through the platform since they began using it. For the fall 2025 cycle, Loyola recorded the following successes reflecting students who engaged with the university about the nursing program via Connections:

• 59 applicants
• 35 admitted students
• 1 deposited student

Mongillo sees value in Connections far beyond the metrics: “As student behavior shifts and privacy expectations increase, it’s been important for us to show up earlier in the journey when students are still exploring and before they’ve narrowed their college lists.”

Additionally, since increasing engagement with in-state students had been identified as a strategic priority, Mongillo says, “Connections has allowed us to tailor messages by geography and connect more meaningfully with students closer to home.”

In addition to geographic segmentation, Connections’ ability to segment by academic interest brings further value. “We tailor messaging for in-state versus out-of-state students and customize content based on likely program affinity, such as nursing or other health sciences. 

This type of segmentation allows us to speak more directly to students’ interests and backgrounds, even in a privacy-first environment. It’s helped us reinforce themes from other parts of our communication flow while showing up earlier in the discovery process, often before students are actively engaging through other channels.”

“Connections is about access and opportunity. It puts students in the driver’s seat and helps institutions like ours show up at the right time, with the right message, even before students officially ‘raise their hand.’” – Genna Mongillo, Senior Director of Enrollment Marketing and Communications

Mongillo says they want students who will thrive at Loyola, and “part of that means reaching them early, authentically, and in a way that respects their autonomy.” 

She summarizes that they’ve been able to “extend our brand into new places, reach underrepresented students, and support mission-fit discovery across a longer window of time. Especially for new programs or evolving strategic priorities, that early visibility can make a major difference.”