Keith Wellings

Mr. Keith Wellings joined American Public University System as Director of Financial Aid and Compliance in June 2009. His responsibilities in that role included overseeing and managing all components of financial services compliance, as well as monitoring default prevention initiatives. Mr. Wellings took the lead to develop and implement the processes and staff that APUS utilizes to identify and prevent potential student fraud and abuse with regard to Title IV funding. The established processes meet the requirements of the Department of Education and the Office of Inspector General, and can rightfully be described as a model for our industry.

In 2011, the military assistance team was placed under Mr. Wellings leadership and he was promoted to assistant vice president in May 2012. Mr. Wellings was promoted again in January 2014 to vice president, financial aid and compliance. Simultaneous restructuring in finance added the training and process review team to his areas of responsibility. During his tenure at the university, he has spearheaded and served as subject matter expert on new federal rules and internal policy revisions. These areas include program integrity, gainful employment, student status confirmation reports, engagement with the National Clearinghouse, Fraud and Abuse, Identity Theft and Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Mr. Wellings is proud to be a first generation college graduate and wants to see every student be successful in obtaining their degree. He has 24 years of financial aid and higher education experience. He has worked in several sectors of higher education to include proprietary institutions, large and small private institutions and state operated four year institutions. In previous organizations, Mr. Wellings worked directly with admissions to recruit qualified candidates, supported student learning within student affairs, advanced scholarship and retention within the provost’s office, and managed fiscal responsibilities as a part of several finance departments.

Mr. Wellings is active in professional associations and community organizations. He presents on important topics in financial aid including fraud prevention and detection. He co-presented with the assistant secretary of education at a regional conference in 2012. He served three terms as a board member and served one term as treasurer of the Virginia Association of Financial Aid Administrators.

He received a B.S. in Business Administration with a minor in Economics from Frostburg State University. He values continuing education, lifelong learning, and has completed 30 credit hours at the graduate level for professional development.