news at welch college   Welch College in Gallatin, Tennessee, has been the official college of the Free Will Baptist Denomination since 1942. To find out more information about the school, visit www.Welch.edu.

Welch College Ranked Second in Social Mobility by U.S. News & World Report

Welch College recently received notification it has been ranked second in social mobility and 17th overall among Best Regional Colleges–South in the 2024 edition of U.S. News and World Report’s Best Colleges, according to President Matt Pinson.

The social mobility ranking measures the percentage of students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds who graduate. The Regional Colleges–South category comprises 98 other colleges and universities in the South.

“We’re delighted Welch remains highly ranked by U.S. News Best Colleges,” President Pinson said. “This communicates to prospective students, parents, and alumni alike that we value excellence, that the education students receive at Welch is competitive, solid, and recognized in the academic community.”

The Best Regional Colleges category includes institutions focused on teaching undergraduate students. These schools offer a range of degree programs in the liberal arts and in professional fields.

“Colleges go up and down in these rankings each year,” Pinson said. “When we first entered the rankings 13 years ago, we were ranked 52nd. Then five years ago we increased to 26th, after which we’ve consistently been in the top 20. Our ranking at 17th is exciting.”

“We are thankful to be ranked in the top 17% of our category,” Provost Matthew McAffee said. “Our faculty and staff work hard to offer students excellence in Christian higher education. This ranking is evidence of their commitment.”

U.S. News rankings judge the relative quality of institutions based on widely accepted indicators of excellence in higher education: what peer institutions think of the institution, how many freshmen return their sophomore year, how many later graduate, student-faculty ratio, faculty quality, financial resources, how many economically challenged students graduate, and more.

“To put our ranking in perspective,” Pinson concluded, “the ten institutions ranked directly above us have an average enrollment about three times higher than Welch’s and an average endowment about nine times higher than Welch’s. We’re striving to be good stewards of the resources God has given us.”

Out of 99 institutions in the category, Welch received especially high marks in four strategic areas, ranking as follows:

• 1st in student-faculty ratio (tied)
  

• 2nd in graduation rate for economically challenged students
  

• 3rd in ACT/SAT scores
  

• 5th in freshman retention
  

For more information about Welch, email gotowelch@welch.edu or visit www.welch.edu.