Warner Southern College was founded in 1968 by the Southeastern Association of the Church of God in Anderson, Indiana. The first freshman class of 27 students entered in the fall of 1968. In 2008, the name was changed to Warner University.
Campus
Warner's campus is located south of Lake Wales, Florida, in the geographic center of the state between Tampa and Orlando.
Student enrollment
Enrollment hit an all-time record high of 1,215 students in the fall of 2017 and the university has a student-to-faculty ratio of 16:1. Its student body represents over 28 states and 19 countries. 43% of undergraduates at Warner University are first-generation college students. In 2019-2020, gender distribution was 54 percent male students and 46 percent female students.
Awards and recognition
Warner University's ranking in the 2020 edition of U.S. News and World Report's "Best Colleges" is #58 in the Regional Colleges South category. Schools are ranked according to their performance across a set of widely accepted indicators of excellence.
Academics
Warner is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and offers over 30 undergraduate degree programs for traditional students. For working adults, Warner offers a Master of Business Administration, a Master of Arts in Education, a Master of Science in Management, a Bachelor of Science in Transformational Church Ministry, a Bachelor of Arts in Educational Studies, a Bachelor of Arts in Healthcare Management, and a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration. These degrees are available in either an online or site-based format. In recent years, Warner added a Bachelor of Arts in Agricultural Studies. Warner also supports a unique training facility known as the H.E.A.R.T. Institute. The HEART Institute is a simulated developing country village which trains students in missionary fieldwork while giving them an opportunity to live in an environment similar to many underdeveloped parts of the world.
Library
The Pontious Learning Resource Center serves as the academic library at Warner University. Its collection includes approximately 95,000 books and 8,000 periodical subscriptions in several different formats. The Pontious Learning Resource Center also offers several specialized collections including the Curriculum Materials Center, Instructional Materials Lab, and the Pioneer Room. The Pioneer Room houses the Church of God and Warner University archival materials.
