by jowens | Sep 10, 2018
Welch College received notification that the institution ranks 13th among “Best Regional Colleges” (South Region) in U.S. News & World Report’s 2019 edition of America’s Best Colleges rankings, according to Welch president Matt Pinson. The numerical ranking of 13 in the 2019 South Region indicates a rise of 13 places above the 2018 edition ranking of 26. Welch had the fifth highest ranking of all the colleges and universities in Tennessee in the “Best Value” category, which combines quality and price.
“This is a tremendous blessing!” President Pinson said. “Although one of our eventual goals was to move this high in the rankings, it was a pleasant surprise that we were able to do so this year. This ranking demonstrates our quality to not only our students and supporters but also those outside the Welch family. It also reassures prospective students and their parents that Welch remains a top-quality institution of higher learning that delivers on their educational investment, while keeping Christian learning and spiritual formation at the heart of their college experience.”
The “Best Regional Colleges” category where Welch is ranked includes 248 institutions that focus on undergraduate education and offer a range of degree programs in the liberal arts and in professional fields such as business, nursing, and education. Colleges in this category are ranked within four geographic regions: North, South, Midwest, and West.
U.S. News rankings offer opportunities to judge the relative quality of institutions based on widely accepted indicators of excellence: peer assessment, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, alumni giving, and more.
Welch received especially high marks in four strategic areas—percent of classes with under 20 students (90%), student/faculty ratio (9/1), first-year student retention rate (72%), and freshmen in the top 25% of their high school class (66%). Welch’s peer reputation ranking also increased from 2.4 to 2.7.
Provost Matthew McAffee said, “I am excited to see such a remarkable increase in our ranking this year. Welch College is committed to excellence in our academic programs, and our momentous rise in this national ranking underlines our efforts. We thank the Lord for His continued favor upon the ministry of Welch College.”
More information is available about the rankings and methodology in the annual America’s Best Colleges guidebook at: www.usnews.com/collegemeth. For more information about Welch, email gotowelch@welch.edu or visit www.welch.edu.
by jowens | Aug 13, 2018
Welch College has an opening for a full-time accounting employee in the Business Office according to Craig Mahler, vice president for financial affairs. The position requires intermediate computer and strong interpersonal skills, and ability to manage details well. Ideal candidates will have a background in higher education.
“This is an important hire for the college at this time,” Mr. Mahler said. “We’ve had some staffing adjustments the past few years due to retirements and other career moves. We’re taking a fresh look at the organization and staffing of the Business Office. The college needs a professional who loves God and strongly supports the mission of Welch College. The person who fills this key position will interact directly with Welch students on billing and other financial matters and assist the Business Office with accounting and other administrative tasks.”
The full-time salaried position is immediately available, with the intent to hire as soon as possible.
General Requirements:
- Have a clear Christian testimony and commitment to Welch College
- Hold membership in good standing at a local church
- Work well both independently and collaboratively
- Manage time and task priorities well
- Consider him/herself a detail person
- Prioritize friendly and effective communication with campus stakeholders
- Have intermediate-level skills in Microsoft Excel and exposure to accounting software such as QuickBooks
- Hold a business-related bachelor’s degree
- Preferably, with at least one year of accounting coursework
- Some experience in task management and supervision
- Demonstrate how past experience fits well with this role
Responsibilities:
- Student billing: prepare and distribute student bills according to schedule set with campus stakeholder input
- Maintain and reconcile student collections information, actively seeking collection of late payments
- Apply financial aid to accounts at the direction of the Financial Aid Coordinator
- Reconcile activity between Populi and Accounting office records monthly
- Some task management and employee supervision responsibilities
- Other accounting tasks as assigned
Skills/Proficiency testing may be required.
Salary based on experience. Welch College offers a generous benefits package and provides tuition assistance for employees enrolling in on-campus coursework.
Interested persons may send their resumes to Mr. Craig Mahler at the address below, or e-send resumes and references to cfo@welch.edu.
Craig Mahler
Business Office
Welch College
1045 Bison Trail
Gallatin, TN 37066
by jowens | Aug 9, 2018
Welch College Vice President for Financial Affairs, Craig Mahler, recently announced upcoming staffing changes in the Business Office. Jill Ketteman, who has served at the college nearly twenty years will retire on August 3. Additionally, Leigh Ann Smith recently announced her departure effective August 8.
Jill Ketteman, who is a Welch graduate, currently serves as the Financial Aid Assistant. She said, “I am so grateful for the manyopportunities to get to know the Welch students while serving in both Student Services and Financial Aid offices over the duration of my almost-20-year tenure. My Welch colleagues will remain lifelong friends.” In March Jill began discussing the possibility of reconfiguring her work schedule to devote more time to family and other interests. After prayerful consideration, she and her husband, Dr. Greg Ketteman, Welch’s Vice President for Strategic Initiatives, determined it was God’s timing for her to retire. Our college family wishes her well in retirement and congratulates Mrs. Ketteman for a job well done!
Leigh Ann Smith has served at the college as Staff Accountant since late 2013, first as a contract employee supplied by a local accounting firm. She was then hired by the college full-time in March 2014. Recently, Mrs. Smith and her family determined it was time that she drastically cut her nearly eighty mile daily commute to the college’s new campus in Gallatin. The Lipscomb University graduate will return to her alma mater to work in the Financial Aid Department and in order to be near her teenage sons who are students at Lipscomb Academy.
Smith said, “In my four years at Welch College, I have enjoyed working with wonderful men and women who love the Lord. I treasure these friendships and feel privileged to have been a part of Welch’s historic move to the Gallatin campus. The final result was worth the sacrifice and hard work.”
Mahler said, “Both these ladies have a servant’s heart and have excelled in their unique roles. I am beyond grateful for their support, faithful service, and strong love for the mission of Welch College. Jill Ketteman and Leigh Ann Smith are among the committed faculty and staff whose service results in Welch College achieving its mission to educate Christian leaders. They will be missed. The college’s administration will assess personnel needs in the Business and Financial Aid offices and determine the path forward in the near future.”
More information about Welch is available at the college’s website, www.welch.edu
by jowens | Jun 20, 2018
GALLATIN, TN—Welch College men’s basketball team has agreed to play Presbyterian College next season according to Greg Fawbush, Athletic Director and head men’s basketball coach. This will be the first time in the history of the college that a Welch athletic team will play an NCAA Division I team. The game will be played on the campus of Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC, at 7:00 p.m. on November 12.
Welch College is a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association division II and primarily plays NAIA and NCAA III colleges for out-of-conference games. Presbyterian College is a member of the Big South Conference and plays some of the top teams in the nation. “Our student-athletes work hard, and this gives them an opportunity to showcase their God given talents,” Coach Fawbush said. “We hope this opportunity not only gives us the chance to display our testimonies through competition but also demonstrates the uniqueness of Welch College.”
by jowens | Apr 27, 2018
Welch College’s total annual enrollment totaled 436 for the 2017-18 year, marking the highest enrollment in 33 years, according to Provost Matthew McAffee.
“Recently, our highest enrollment was in 2006, with a total head count of 420,” McAffee said. “We are thrilled by this headcount and believe it shows we’re gaining significant momentum in enrollment growth.”
Registrar Sharon Rodgers completed final enrollment statistics for the 2017-18 year, after registration for the third session for the Online and Evening Adult Studies programs was complete.
In 1984, total annual enrollment was 461. The highest since then was in 2006 with a total of 420. The college’s highest annual enrollment was in 1981, with a total of 648.
“For the past five years, Welch has been experiencing a rebound in enrollment from our difficult years back in the Recession,” President Matt Pinson said. “Like many Christian colleges, Welch’s enrollment dipped in the aftermath of the Recession, and we struggled as a result. We’re thankful to have seen enrollment gradually increase over the past five years, and it’s great to see it reach pre-Recession levels.”
“College enrollment trends have changed over the years,” said Daniel Webster, Director of Enrollment Services. “Our high years back in the late 1970s and early 1980s were when the Baby Boomers were in college. Since then, not only have the numbers decreased in general, but also factors like free community college, lottery scholarships, and the advent of online education have had a negative impact on the enrollment of residential Christian colleges. So we’re thankful for this gradual growth in times like these,” Webster explained.
College officials credit the college’s name change and relocation to its new campus in Gallatin, Tennessee, with much of the recent growth. “The name change and new campus have contributed to this growth, and the hard work over the past decade by Mrs. Debbie Mouser and others on the Enrollment Team has laid the kind of foundation that will ensure healthy growth over the next decade,” added Webster.
Pinson said, “I expect enrollment to top 500 in the next year and set an all-time record in the year or two after that.”
For more information, visit Welch.edu. To give to the capital campaign to fund construction of the new campus, visit Buildingonthelegacy.com.
by jowens | Apr 12, 2018
Welch College has named Russell Houske as Men’s Resident Director at Welch College and Rebekah Talbot as Women’s Resident Director, according to Jon Forlines, Vice President for Student Services.
“We are pleased to announce that Mr. Houske and Mrs. Talbot will be serving in these roles,” Forlines said. “We believe they will continue the excellent job done by Anna McAffee, who served as women’s resident director for eight years, and Mike Edwards, who served as men’s resident director for seven years, as well as five years in the 1990s.”
Talbot, a 2012 Welch music education graduate, served as a music teacher in North Carolina public schools before returning to Welch as academic office manager for two years. She has served as a homemaker and photographer since 2016. She and her husband, Chris, who serves as campus pastor and teaches youth and family ministry at Welch, have two sons: William (age 2) and James Elliott (eight months).
Houske recently joined the Welch staff as Facilities Services Manager, after serving as a bi-vocational youth pastor, pastor, and paramedic. He recently completed his B.S. in General Christian Ministry at Welch and is now enrolled in the master’s program in Theology and Ministry at Welch. He and his wife Amber have four children: Jacob, a freshman at Welch, Jackson (15), Carleigh (14), and Cayden (12).
“Our resident directors and their spouses are really like dorm parents,” Forlines said. “In recent years, the spouses have played such an active role that we’ve begun to think of them in this way. Chris Talbot and Amber Houske are going to be sharing some of the RD responsibilities. Both the Talbots and Houskes are exceptional Christian couples who will bring their ministry backgrounds to this role which is so important in the spiritual formation of our students.”
The new resident directors will begin their duties in June of this year.
