Welch headcount totaled 385 for the Fall 2017 semester, marking the highest enrollment in ten years, according to Provost Matthew McAffee.
“We have not seen an enrollment number like this since the fall semester of 2006,” said McAffee. “We are thrilled by this headcount and believe it shows we are gaining significant momentum in enrollment growth.”
Registrar Sharon Rodgers completed final enrollment statistics for the fall semester of 2017, after registration for the third session for the Online and Enriched Adult Studies programs was complete. Statistics show that the fall enrollment in all major areas was greater than at any point since before the Recession, which drove down enrollment numbers from 2008 to 2011, until they began to rebound in 2012.
The full-time equivalent enrollment for Fall 2017 was 280, the highest since 2007, when that number was 287. The headcount for Fall 2017 was 385, the highest since 2006 when the number was 391. The dormitory enrollment was 196, the highest since 2007 when the number was 209.
“For the past five years, Welch has been experiencing a rebound in enrollment from our difficult years back in the Recession,” said Welch President Matt Pinson. “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 for the first time this year.”
College officials credit the college’s name change and relocation to its new campus in Gallatin, Tennessee, with much of the recent growth. “I wouldn’t be surprised if enrollment topped 500 in the next year or two, and set an all-time record in the year or two after that,” Pinson said.
For more information, visit Welch.edu. To give to the capital campaign to fund construction of the new campus, visit Buildingonthelegacy.com.