Online Associate’s Degree Programs at Welch College
Welch College appears in our ranking of Best Tiny Colleges.
The online learning programs available at Welch College allow students to earn their degrees from different locations around the world. Those programs include a bachelor’s degree with a track in general Christian ministry and three online associate’s degree programs. The first is an online Associate of Arts (AA) program that features 62 hours of work. Online students must maintain a 2.0-grade point average and take 14 hours of theology courses, including Introduction to Biblical Studies, Survey: Poetry and Prophecy and Survey: Law and History. They’ll also take 48 hours of courses in the arts and sciences disciplines such as Lifetime Fitness, History of Western Civilization I and II and Marriage and the Family.
An online Associate of Science (AS) in Ministry is available for students who want to work in pastoral and lay positions within their Churches. It focuses more heavily on theology than the AA program does and includes 37 credits of theology courses. By the end of their studies, students should better understand passages in the Bible and how to use their faith in a professional setting. Biblical Bases of Missions, Philosophy of Youth and Family Ministry, Christian Ministry and Local Church and World Missions are among their required courses. Welch College allows students to do volunteer work for course credit in any part of the world. Majors will also take some general education classes.
All online students at Welch College take Online Orientation before registering for other courses. This is a class that they audit, which means they do not get credit for it. It helps them understand how the online system works and what they need to do. The college can waive this requirement if the student took online classes before.
Also available is an online AS in Business program that looks at the functions of a business and teaches students how to use Christian principles as they work in this industry. The program features 20 credits of business courses, including Introduction to Business, Principles of Macroeconomics, Principles of Microeconomics, Principles of Management and Principles of Accounting I and II. Majors will take one business elective that allows them to take classes in human resource management, marketing, and other business fields. Fundamentals of Speech is another required class that business majors take. It ensures that they can speak in front of others to give presentations and that they can handle leading others and working in small groups.
About Welch College
Welch College is a private college established in 1942. The National Association of Free Will Baptists met in Nashville, Tennessee and laid out the design of the new school. It then opened as the Free Will Baptist Bible College with an enrollment of only eight students. Those students signed up for two-year programs that the college later changed as it added four-year programs of study. This would become the bachelor’s degree programs that are available today. The college would later sell its campus in Nashville and build a new campus in Gallatin, which opened in the spring of 2017. During an association meeting in 2012, members voted to change the name of the campus to Welch College. Welch now offers a Master of Arts in Theology and several undergraduate degree programs that help students earn associate’s and bachelor’s degrees. The college has a small enrollment of fewer than 500 undergrads.
Welch College Accreditation Details
With regional accreditation, Welch is one of the only religious schools that can award financial aid to students. That aid goes to any student who fills out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). They can get loans and other aid due to the accreditation Welch holds from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). To show the commitment that the college has to its religious background, it also obtained accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of the Association for Biblical Higher Education (CAABHE). Accreditation allows the college to offer undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
Welch College Application Requirements
Welch College hosts both Welcome Days and Senior Days as a way to help students learn more about its programs and campus. Senior Days allow students to meet with other high school seniors who they may take classes with later. During Welcome Days, they can mingle with other students starting in the fall. The college offers help to parents who want to learn more too. It encourages students to take a look at their degree programs and choose one before they apply.
Any student who wants to take online courses must use the application designed for adult and online students. It takes 45 minutes or less to complete the application, which requires a full name, email address and phone number to start. The application includes multiple pages that ask about where the student goes to church and if he or she finished high school. It also asks if the student went to college and has any credits they need to transfer to Welch. The Dean of Adult and Online Studies can help students with any questions or problems they have too.
Tuition and Financial Aid
At Welch College, undergrads pay $10,085 each semester or $20,170 per year and can take up to 18 credits of classes without paying any extra fees. Students who take 11 or fewer credits and those who take 19 or more credits all pay $687 per credit hour. On-campus housing is available for $1,551 per semester. The college also requires that undergrads pay $2,534 for a meal plan each semester. Online students do not need to pay for a dorm room or meal plan and instead pay only $379 per credit hour in their classes.
With the college’s deferred payment plan, students can pay $2,400 when they register for classes and 1/3 of the amount they still owe by the middle of each upcoming month. Students can sign up for a payment plan if they receive financial aid that doesn’t cover all of their costs. Welch offers scholarships that range from $200 to $10,000 a year, but the college only awards scholarships to incoming students who complete a separate application. Those applying to the online associate’s degree programs at Welch College can get financial aid from the federal and state government through the FAFSA too, including grants and loans.
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