“This was the very first program in higher education in which federal financial aid dollars are being given for direct measurement of learning, not how much time someone sits in a chair,” SNHU President Paul LeBlanc said.
The program saw its first graduate after just three months, though the 21-year-old sanitation worker from Ohio wasn’t typical of the 400 students who’ve enrolled since January, LeBlanc said.
Most are older students juggling work, education and families, he said, while maybe 10 percent of SNHU students enrolled in the program could be considered “sprinters” who are eager to finish as quickly as possible.
“They love the fact that if they’re really good at something, they don’t have to sit in a classroom for 14 or 15 weeks to show it, they can demonstrate mastery and move on,” he said. “But they also like the opposite, which is if you’ve always struggled as a writer, why would we think we can make you a competent writer in a 14 week freshman composition class? So if it takes them a year and a half to get to a level of competency, that’s fine, too.”
SNHU decided to partner with companies such as Anthem, ConAgra Foods and FedEx to reach potential students who’d benefit from being surrounded by a supportive environment, LeBlanc said.
Many of the competencies are tied to skills employers say low-level employees often lack, such as the ability to work in teams, he said.
And employers are using the program innovation to build a pipeline of workers who could be management material.
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