The Office of Institutional Effectiveness
Our Mission
Welch College exists to educate leaders to serve Christ, His Church, and His world through biblical thought and life.
Objectives
The following general objectives indicate the knowledge, attitudes, and abilities that the College regards as generally essential for effective Christian service. The College intends that these be developed in good measure in all graduates:
- A broad comprehension of biblical teaching.
- Christian character and spiritual maturity, manifested in living according to biblical principles and a meaningful devotional life.
- A Christian worldview, manifested in an awareness of its implications for thought and life.
- An informed mind, manifested in critical thinking and intellectual honesty.
- A concern for global missions and evangelism, manifested in consistent giving, praying, and witnessing toward the accomplishment of the Great Commission.
- A knowledgeable commitment to physical and emotional health.
- A commitment to Christian leadership and service in career, church, family, and private life.
- Social adjustment, manifested in healthy interpersonal relationships.
- The knowledge and skills needed to function effectively in one’s chosen vocation.
- Compassion, manifested in an active desire to help the poor and hurting.
- Communication skills, manifested in effective reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
- Cultural refinement, manifested both in lifestyle and in appreciation for that which is noble and uplifting.
These objectives are detailed in each program of study.
The following criteria are established as the primary means Welch College uses to measure institutional attainment of objectives and to document student success. All assessments are administered to all students across all modalities (traditional, online, hybrid).
- Retention Rates
- Graduation/Completion Rates
- Employment Rates (Survey of Recent Graduates)
- Christian Service Pass Rates
- Graduate School Enrollment
- ETS Proficiency Profile (exit scores for graduating students)
- ABHE Bible Exam (exit scores for graduating students)
As an educational institution with an educational mission, the first goal is to attract, retain, and graduate students. Thus, two criteria were adopted related to this: retention rates and graduation rates. The institution has chosen to make use of IPEDS data for greater consistency even though National Student Clearinghouse data may compare more favorably. All IPEDS information is processed through the Office of Planning and Assessment and developed according to specific, national standards.
Retention Rates
Welch College is an open enrollment institution. There are no minimum entrance requirements other than documentation of the student’s ability to benefit from instruction. In addition, significant numbers of students are first-generation college students, and a large portion of the student body comes from socio-economic situations that often educationally disadvantage students (27% of students are Pell eligible, and 82% of students received some form of financial aid). In addition, because of the religious nature of the institution, many students choose to come to Welch College for one to two years in order to receive instruction in biblical worldview before transferring to other institutions with broader program offerings.
These things obviously impact the goals established by the institution in both retention and completion rates. The average retention rate over the last ten years is 71.48%. These retention rates compare favorably with more selective private institutions in Middle Tennessee.
Minimum threshold of acceptability: 58%
Aspirational goal: 80%
The most recent freshman-sophomore retention rate was 61.67%.
| Year | Retention |
| 2013-2014 | 71% |
| 2014-2015 | 66% |
| 2015-2016 | 70% |
| 2016-2017 | 76% |
| 2017-2018 | 79% |
| 2018-2019 | 71% |
| 2019-2020 | 78% |
| 2020-2021 | 72% |
| 2021-2022 | 71% |
| 2022-2023 | 62% |
| 10 Year Average | 71% |
*These figures are taken from reports filed with ABHE. They reflect the fall-to-fall retention of first-time freshmen.
Graduation/Completion Rate
The open enrollment policy of the institution and high transfer rate obviously impact the institution’s completion rate. However, significant gains have been made over the last several years. In 2015, the five-year average for completions was 40.32%. In 2023, the completion rate was 61.43%, with a five-year average of 61.65%.
Minimum threshold of acceptability: 43%
Aspirational goal: 63%
The most recent graduation/completion rate was 61.43%.
| Year | Cohort Year | Potential Completers | Completers | IPEDS Bachelor’s Percentage Rate | IPEDS Overall Percentage | 5 Year Average |
| 2018-19 | 2013 | 60 | 32 | 59.00% | 53.33% | 45.09% |
| 2019-20 | 2014 | 50 | 36 | 62.00% | 72.00% | 52.35% |
| 2020-21 | 2015 | 45 | 28 | 49.00% | 62.22% | 57.85% |
| 2021-22 | 2016 | 54 | 32 | 51.00% | 59.26% | 60.18% |
| 2022-23 | 2017 | 70 | 43 | 58.00% | 61.43% | 61.67% |
First-time/full-time students entering college at Welch College, and completing their program within 150% of published time.
Employment Rates
General Objectives 7, 9, 10, and 12 listed above concern active engagement in the field of study and to the skills related to how the college understands employment in the field of study. All Welch College graduates receive training in biblical and theological studies. The mission statement asserts that Welch College educates leaders for “service” in a broad variety of settings. This education may or may not relate directly to the student’s primary area of employment.
Many Welch College graduates are engaged in bi-vocational ministry. Others are engaged in ministry positions valued by the College that may not be considered employment or may not be considered full-time. In addition, the population surveyed ranges from 22-27 years of age and includes a significant number of female graduates who are starting families and potentially deciding to forego employment for a time because of this. In addition, survey results have consistently indicated that approximately 1/3 of the graduates in the last five years have completed or are enrolled in graduate school at the time of the survey. These graduate students may not be employed at all and are likely not employed full-time.
For these reasons, the institution tracks employment generally (including both full and part-time employment). The institution adopted a target goal of 90% employment reported on the surveys. This goal would still be above the national average of employment for this age-group demographic.
Minimally acceptable threshold: 83%
Aspirational goal: 95%
Employment Rates from the most recent Survey of Recent Graduates were 96%.
2018 Graduate
Employment Rate
95%
2020 Graduate
Employment Rate
89%
2022 Graduate
Employment Rate
96%
Christian Service Rates
Because a number of the objectives listed above and the mission of the College specifically mention Christian service, Christian service is an important criterion for Welch College to review. In addition, Christian service captures institutional impact that may not be directly reflected in employment surveys. The institution has for a number of years tracked Christian service through successful completion of the Christian Service course (service-learning requirements) and more generally in the Survey of Recent Graduates.
Minimally acceptable threshold: 90%
Aspirational goal: 100%.
Christian Service Rates from the most recent year were 92%
| Year | Fall | Spring | Service Hours |
| 2020-2021 | 97% | 95% | 4,843 |
| 2021-2022 | 93% | 92% | 4,810 |
| 2022-2023 | 97% | 99% | 5,189 |
| 2023-2024 | 93% | 91% | 6,112 |
Graduate School Enrollment
Welch College views education as an integral aspect of preparation for leadership. Given the importance of leadership in the mission of the institution and the related general objectives of the institution (general objectives 2, 7, 8, 9), the institution decided to establish graduate school enrollment as a criterion for demonstrating student success. This also relates to the graduate’s attainment of important intellectual and communication skills (general objectives 4, 9, 11, 12).
Welch College is an open enrollment institution. It is also operated by a religious body that does not require formal education for ordination. As such, it would be expected that graduate matriculation in advanced degrees would be quite low. However, this is not the case. Over the last ten years, surveys of recent graduates have regularly documented graduates’ engagement in advanced degrees at an average of 30%.
Minimally acceptable threshold: 25%
Aspirational goal: 50%
Graduates answering “yes” to the question, “I have completed or am currently enrolled in a graduate degree,” on the most recent Survey of Recent Graduates was 46%.
2018 Graduate
Degree Enrollment
38%
2020 Graduate
Degree Enrollment
38%
2022 Graduate
Employment Rate
46%
General Education Assessments
The same educational goals (general objectives 4, 9, 11, 12) have long been measured by the institution through nationally normed general education assessments. Previously, the College made use of CAAP assessments as an entry/exit means of evaluating student success and assessing general education objectives. Because of the College’s open enrollment policy, CAAP assessments typically demonstrated incoming students scoring slightly below the national norm, and the institutional goal was for exiting students to score at or above the national norm for exiting students. This goal was typically met.
When the CAAP exam ceased to be nationally normed, the institution moved to locate a suitable replacement. Beginning in 2018, Welch College has administered the ETS Proficiency Profile to incoming and graduating students regardless of instructional modality to measure general education outcomes. The following goals were established.
Minimally acceptable threshold: ETS Proficiency Profile average exiting graduate score within one standard deviation of the national norm.
Aspirational goal: ETS Proficiency Profile average exiting graduate score 15 points above the national norm.
The most recent administration of the ETS Proficiency Profile for graduating students demonstrates value-added improvement compared to the national norm in all areas measured (reading, math, writing, and critical thinking). The average improvement by students was 18 points. Graduates scored above the national norm in all areas except math which was a mere 0.8 of a point below the norm in this area. The average overall score for graduates was 440, exceeding the national mean of 436.1.
| Category | Entrance Score | Exit Score | Value-added |
| Reading | 113 | 116 | 3 |
| Math | 111 | 111 | 0.03 |
| Writing | 112 | 114 | 2 |
| Critical Thinking | 108 | 111 | 3 |
| Overall Score | 422 | 440 | 18 |
| Category | 23-24 Exit Scores | National Mean | Standard Deviation |
| Reading | 116 | 115.1 | 2.6 |
| Math | 111 | 111.8 | 2.2 |
| Writing | 114 | 112.4 | 1.9 |
| Critical Thinking | 111 | 109.8 | 2.1 |
| Overall Score | 440 | 436.1 | 8.4 |
ABHE Bible Exam
Other missionally important educational goals of the institution relate to biblical and theological content and to the cultivation of a Christian worldview (general objectives 1, 2, 3, 12). Welch College has long made use of the Association for Biblical Higher Education’s Bible Knowledge Exam to measure student attainment of related institutional objectives. This assessment is nationally normed, but the norm is universal rather than annual. Welch College administers this assessment to entering and exiting students.
Minimally acceptable threshold: 15-point improvement in value-added score (pre-test/post-test)
Aspirational goal: 25-point improvement in value-added score (pre-test/post-test)
The average improvement of entry/exit (value-added) score for Welch College graduates in the most recent assessment was 22 points.
Entrance/Exit (Value-added) Performance by Category
| Category | Entrance Score | Exit Score | Pre/Post-test Difference |
| Acts | 52% | 83% | 31 |
| Bible as a Whole | 64% | 79% | 15 |
| General Epistles | 48% | 65% | 17 |
| Gospels | 52% | 75% | 23 |
| Pauline Epistles | 44% | 72% | 28 |
| Revelation | 63% | 88% | 25 |
| Historical Books | 55% | 75% | 20 |
| Pentateuch | 61% | 81% | 20 |
| Prophets | 44% | 65% | 21 |
| Psalms and Wisdom Literature | 35% | 69% | 34 |
| Overall | 53% | 75% | 22 |
| Category | Total ABHE Results | Welch College Results |
| Acts | 66% | 76% |
| Bible as a Whole | 75% | 80% |
| General Epistles | 60% | 60% |
| Gospels | 70% | 74% |
| Pauline Epistles | 66% | 70% |
| Revelation | 77% | 86% |
| Historical Books | 68% | 73% |
| Pentateuch | 75% | 81% |
| Prophets | 59% | 66% |
| Psalms & Wisdom Literature | 61% | 69% |
ABHE Bible Exam Value-Added Scores
2022
24 points
2023
21 points
2024
22 points
2022 Graduate Survey Highlights and Takeaways
Employment
The employment rate for Welch College graduates in the last five years is 96%. When adjusted for those graduates not seeking employment because of graduate education or to take care of children, the employment rate is 100%.
Even in the midst of a global pandemic 62% were employed within the first 6 months from graduation.
Job Satisfaction
- 89% of Welch College graduates in the last five years indicate they are satisfied in their jobs.
- 83% of Welch College graduates in the last five years indicate they have had no more than two jobs since graduation.
- 69% of respondents indicate that their current employment has significant relation to their academic preparation at Welch College.
- 68% of full-time employees make over $35,000 per year. Adjusted pay rates: <20-35K = 31%, 35-75K = 52%, 75->100K = 14%.
Graduate Education
46% of Welch College graduates in the last five years have completed or are currently enrolled in graduate programs.
Welch College Preparation
- 96% of all respondents indicated that Welch College’s biblical and theological studies courses prepared them for the ministry in which they are currently engaged.
- 91% of respondents indicated that the preparation for ministry they received at Welch College was adequate or better.
Church Attendance and Ministry
- 95% of all respondents indicate regular attendance at worship services. Barna’s 2022 Weekly Church Attendance survey indicated that 39% of millennials (ages 24-38) attended church services weekly.
- Almost half (46%) of male graduates in the last five years indicate active engagement in preaching ministry.
- Almost half of Welch College graduates in the last five years are actively engaged in teaching (49%) and children’s ministry (46%)
- Over 1/3 of these graduates engaged in discipleship (39%) and music ministry (39%)
Community Service
- Over one third (38%) of Welch College graduates in the last five years report regular engagement in community service and reported over 3,276 hours of community service in the year.
- Over half (55%) of the respondents who engage in community service reported that they perform over three hours per week of community service.
- 2/3 (66%) of Welch College graduates say that their experiences at Welch College were important in encouraging their ongoing commitment to community service.
Political engagement
- 96% of Welch graduates are registered to vote.
- Almost ¾ (74%) of Welch graduates voted in the last national election.
- Over half (58%) of Welch graduates voted in the last local election.
