Welch Marks Highest Fall Enrollment in 36 Years

by jowens | Sep 21, 2019

Welch College enrolled the highest number of students in 36 years for the Fall 2019 semester, according to Provost Matthew McAffee. Total enrollment statistics indicate 426 students from 24 states, one territory, and five foreign countries, a 5.4 percent increase over last fall’s headcount. The fall of 1983 was the last fall semester that the enrollment was higher, with a headcount of 467.

“We are thankful for the modest increase in enrollment numbers this year,” McAffee said. “The Lord continues to bless our efforts in equipping leaders for Christ’s kingdom work.”

The increase in new students this year occurred with both freshmen and transfer students. This fall 84 new students enrolled in traditional on-campus programs at Welch. A total of 116 new students joined the student body for the new school year, including graduate, online, and adult studies enrollments.

At press time the college reported 185 dormitory students, 36 commuter students, 33 graduate students, 31 Adult Studies students, 50 Online/Lifetime Learning students, and 91 dual enrollment students. The fall’s full-time equivalency (FTE) is 307 students.

“We’re thankful to God for another increase in headcount and FTE enrollment,” President Matt Pinson said. “We’re excited that we have the third highest number of new traditional, college-age students since 2006, one of the top incoming classes in the last twenty years. This is good, especially given the fact that enrollment at many colleges and universities in the U.S. is at a standstill or declining.”

“The composition of the enrollment at private colleges and universities has shifted since the turn of the century, and we’ve seen this at Welch,” Pinson said. “When I was a student in the mid-1980s, we had a large number of married students in their late twenties and thirties who had pulled up stakes and moved across the country to attend college. Those days are gone. That kind of student is now engaging in non-traditional delivery systems, including online and evening classes. It’s exciting, though, to see an upward trend in enrollment occurring across all sectors at Welch.”

For more information about Welch College, email recruit@welch.edu or visit the college’s website at www.welch.edu.