Southern New Hampshire Offers Cheaper College Option
Southern New Hampshire University is beginning an experiment in no-frills higher education, offering four-year university coursework for $10,000 a year at a satellite campus just 20 miles south of the school's main campus in Manchester, the Boston Globe reports.
Southern New Hampshire is at the forefront of a push by some colleges around the country to provide a no-frills, lower-cost education for students who don't mind forgoing traditional college life and its accompanying amenities, particularly during a recession, as long as they get a diploma.
At a college stripped to its academic core, some higher education leaders worry that students are missing the dearly held residential experience. For generations, glossy brochures have touted the ideal of spending four years ambling along leafy quads and partaking in deep discussions with dormmates late into the night.
"Families come to campus and they want to see a food court, a fitness center with a climbing wall, and brand-new dorms," said Paul LeBlanc, president of Southern New Hampshire. "So we build everything, each one nicer than the other, to remain competitive."
But, LeBlanc added: "I'm not sure that improves education. It just drives the price up. Not everybody needs it, and frankly, not everybody can afford it."
Daniel Webster College offers a similar tuition break, and the public university system in Pennsylvania is considering creating four-year colleges sans dorms, athletics, and extracurriculars.
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Reader Comments
No Frills, just thrills in education
I am a student of SNHU, and I am gaining way more than a no frills education.
Some of the best experiences in my life have been from the challenges, relationships and PHENOMINAL educators that this schoold has presented to me.
I am 43 years old and I am earning a degree at my own pace, while continuing to hold a career, family and social life. I could care less about a GYM, dorm or any of the other fluffy stuff. Just give me the education I can take with me into the next phase of my life.
SNHU does just that, but with deeper care and a ton of creativity!
AHEAD OF THE POWER CURVE
SNHU continues to amaze as it's leadership finds innovative ways to reach out to U.S.
and international students. The fact that the idea and planning for this higher
education option must have occurred months before the economic meltdown became
a daily news fixture, demonstrates phenomenal knowledge, foresight, imagination,
and the willingness to take calculated risks. It is unfortunate that this type of
ingenuity was not present in the boardrooms of many of our automakers and financial
institutions.
Continue to excel and be a blessing, SNHU!
Rethink Everything
SNHU has their ear on the track on this point. The traditional college "experience" is pleasant window dressing, that one leaves far behind as we face the challenges of life.
It is a very real possibility that this pared down college
approach will result in a better education, since no one is
distracted by either providing, or experiencing, the extra frills. Real teachers can focus on real education, and the truly real experiences that come from that.
God speed to SNHU and the others on this track.
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