Williamson College is a private nondenominational Christian college in

Franklin, Tennessee Franklin is a city in and county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. About south of Nashville, it is one of the principal cities of the Nashville metropolitan area and Middle Tennessee. As of 2020, its population was 83,454 ...

. It was founded in 1997 as Williamson Christian College.

History

Williamson Christian College was founded in 1997 by Kenneth Oosting. Oosting was the former dean of

Milligan College Milligan University is a private Christian university in Milligan College, Tennessee. Founded in 1866 as the Buffalo Male and Female Institute, and known as Milligan College from 1881 to May 2020, the school has a student population of more tha ...

and an educational business consultant. The college was named after Williamson County, where it is located. It has a focus on business, leadership, and ministry academics. The college was initially incorporated with the

Tennessee Secretary of State The Tennessee Secretary of State is an office created by the Tennessee State Constitution. The Secretary of State is responsible for many of the administrative aspects of the operation of state government of Tennessee. The current Secretary of ...

in December 1996, officially receiving approval from the

Tennessee Higher Education Commission The Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) was established by the Tennessee General Assembly in 1967 to coordinate and support the efforts of higher education institutions in the State of Tennessee. One of its statutory requirements is to ...

in April 1997, and classes starting in 1998. It first received accreditation in 2002. Oosting retired from his position as president in 2008. Stephen Higgins succeeded Oosting as President and retired in 2012. The current president of the college, Ed Smith, was sworn in on November 11, 2012. For the college's 10th anniversary it hosted former Arkansas Governor and

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and 2016 presidential candidate Mike Huckabee to speak about the upcoming primaries and the importance of higher education. In 2012, the college moved from its initial location to its current campus at 274 Mallory Station Road in the Cool Springs area of Franklin. The following year, the name of the school was changed to Williamson College. In 2014, Williamson College began a program in partnership with the Williamson County Sheriffs Office to educate inmates in Williamson County jails. A second campus was announced in

Smyrna, Tennessee Smyrna is a town in Rutherford County, Tennessee. Smyrna's population was 53,070 at the 2020 census. In 2007, '' U.S. News & World Report'' listed Smyrna as one of the best places in the United States to retire. Smyrna is part of the Nashville ...

in 2018, to better serve Veterans,

Nissan Smyrna Assembly Plant The Nissan Smyrna assembly plant is an automobile assembly plant in Smyrna, Tennessee, that began production in 1983 and employs approximately 8,000. The plant has an annual capacity of 640,000 cars, which was the highest in North America in 2017 ...

employees, and the surrounding communities.

Academics

Williamson College offers studies in business, leadership, and ministry, and has undergraduate programs for both

associate's An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The f ...

and

bachelor's degrees A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

. The college also has multiple graduate programs for

master's degrees A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in Organizational Leadership, an Entrepreneurial

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

, Theological Studies, and Worship Arts Leadership. Degrees are offered on campus and online. Williamson College provides a class model in which each class meets one time per week for five weeks. This model was based on the Adult Learning

program at Trevecca Nazarene University, which Oosting developed before founding Williamson Christian College. These compact and accelerated courses allow both traditional and

non-traditional student A nontraditional student is a term originating in North America, that refers to a category of students at colleges and universities. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) notes that there are varying definitions of nontraditional s ...

s to earn their degree while still being a part of the workforce. This class model also allows for continuous enrollment, allowing for nine enrollment dates throughout the year.

Accreditation and affiliation

Williamson College is accredited by the

Association for Biblical Higher Education The Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE), formerly The Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges (AABC) is an evangelical Christian organization of bible colleges in the United States and Canada. It is a member of the International C ...

(ABHE), which is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. The college was accredited by the

Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools The Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS) is a U.S. based institutional accreditation organization that focuses on Christian colleges, universities, and seminaries seeking collegiate accreditation in the United Stat ...

from 2002 to 2007 until it earned accreditation from ABHE. The college is authorized to grant degrees by the

. The college maintains its financial standards in accordance its membership in the

Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) is an American financial standards association representing Evangelical Christian organizations and churches, which qualify for tax-exempt, nonprofit status and receive tax-deductible c ...

Williamson College is a non-denominational Christian college and as such, holds no affiliation to any specific Christian denomination. It is guided by a 12-member board of trustees.http://www.brentwoodhomepage.com/better-business-bureau-ceo-to-keynote-williamson-college-graduation-cms-26367#.V2eueEbBvcs

References

External links

* {{authority control 1997 establishments in Tennessee Private universities and colleges in Tennessee