Southern New Hampshire University is a fully accredited, co-educational, private university offering more than 48 majors in the liberal arts and sciences, business, education, culinary arts and hospitality, including three-year programs as well. SNHU is a 300-acre campus located in Manchester, which is one of the largest and most dynamic cities in New England and the largest in N.H. With a population of just over 100,000, Manchester combines small-town charm with a lively cultural scene. It is home to two orchestras, an opera company, and dozens of nightclubs. There are outlets, upscale boutiques and funky thrift stores with no sales tax. Downtown Manchester has more than 70 restaurants. They are also home to The Manchester Monarchs Hockey Team and The Fisher Cats minor league baseball team (Toronto Blue Jays).
There are 2,500 undergraduate students, 6,300 graduate and doctoral students, and 7,600 continuing education/on-line students. The international student population is 890, coming from 60 different countries. 70% of the undergraduate students reside on campus while 30% commute from the local area. A new residence hall just opened and I had the opportunity to check it out. There were co-ed and single sex floor options and most rooms were two- bedroom suites with a shared bathroom and common space. Each wing had their own rec-room with a large screen T.V. Construction is underway on a new library and learning commons, which will be completed by 2014. The 50,000 square foot building will include the current collection of 100,000 books, a café and study area. The campus was beautiful and in full bloom.
A little history for you, Southern New Hampshire University was founded as the New Hampshire College of Accounting and Commerce, and the original “Penman” mascot held a quill, used by colonial accountants, becoming the “staff” of the character. The look of the Penman logo was redesigned in 2001 to coincide with the change from New Hampshire College to Southern New Hampshire University and the Penman figure today is a classic revolutionary war character charging forward holding an American flag.
One of the three-year program options is called “CU” College Unbound. It offers a B.A. in Integrated Studies degree from SNHU designed to get you out of the classroom and into communities for hands-on, real-world experiences. To be completed in three years, it must run year round. Summer semester is travel abroad. It allows you to pursue your passions and interests instead of a set of courses that are mandatory for your degree. It is described as a hands-on, seminar-style, where a cohort of 15 students participates in the program. Classes are discussion focused- no lectures, no tests; assessment is by portfolio and presentations. The typical student may not look great on paper, but has shown potential and a passion for learning. Students participate and live in learning communities. It is an integrated learning approach. Since this is a new program, the first cohort is graduating this spring, and their career paths are: graduate school, direct employment, and leadership and service positions mainly in non-profits. For the right student, this is one way to keep them interested in pursuing their college education by allowing the freedom to follow their passion.
I was extremely impressed with the Culinary School at SNHU. It was described as a boutique program- where you first earn your Associate in Science degree, then your Bachelor of Science degree in Hospitality Management. All credits transfer into the Culinary Management program. The program is all about fit. Students can study either Baking and Pastry Arts or Culinary Arts. I learned from Chef DeCloux that if a student is described as the “exacting” type they belong in the Baking major. There are 100 freshman and 80 sophomores in the 2+2 program right now. In earning your A.S. degree first, then your B.S., SNHU claims their program has more diversity than schools like CIA, Walnut Hill, and Johnson and Wales. Students do internships between freshmen and sophomore year to determine their interest in pursuing the B.S. degree thus continuing in the program or pursuing another area of study. With a statistic such as “40% of freshmen will change their major” it helps to have the internship after freshmen year to get a real feel for the actual career field. Chef explained that the main difference between the job market for an Associate Degree & the Bachelor Degree in Culinary is a fall back plan. With a B.S. degree, a graduate can always decide to teach. They have their own student-run restaurant on campus called “The Quill” serving up Classical French, Caribbean, Middle Eastern, Thai and Mediterranean cuisine. They also have a student-run bakery, Cafe’ e’ Dolce on campus.
I was also impressed with the School of Education- a young school, adopted in 2004. Being young means that the current professors and faculty built the program, the exact way they wanted to. All professors are certified teachers, thus having the experience to know what makes good teachers! I am not sure I have ever come across a program where all professors are certified teachers with teaching experience in their field. I think it is great! The students learn to put theory into practice. They require one semester of field experience freshman year. The students learn to see the school through the teacher’s eyes. Classes are held at elementary schools, and then the skills are applied in classes. Ex: Math Education student would go to class then go into a classroom afterwards and teach the math skills just learned in a real classroom. It is a very hands on and applied program. SNHU utilizes four local school districts, which are very diverse, for a total of six school buildings for the Education Program. One is an inner-city school. Students complete cross-discipline research such as Education/ Business/ Game Design collaborating on autistic research using gaming and robots with the children.
SNHU has a regular honors program, which carries an additional fee of $2,000 per year as well as a Business Honors Program, which begins sophomore year and is limited to 30 students with integrated classes and a “Degree in Three” Honors Program in Marketing, Sports Management, Business Administration, Accounting and Finance and International Business.
The 3-Year Program in Business allows students to earn a degree in Business Administration in only 3 years. It does not require students to attend on nights, weekends or summers. The program is competency based. SNHU has a Center for Financial Studies, a unique, state-of-the-art learning lab for students to learn to trade stocks/bonds.
In addition, there is an Exploratory Studies option for undecided students, which provides the time, support, and knowledge needed to make an educated decision- when you are ready to declare one of 48 majors. Students complete the general education requirements including a three-year series of one-credit courses called the SNHU Experience. Exploratory Studies opens the door to new and diverse academic options.
Students at SNHU rave about small class sizes (average class size is 20, with a 13:1 ratio), passionate professors, and a tight-knit community. A student on the panel gave the example a chef in the dining hall that the students nicknamed “Fast Eddie” because he knows everyone’s omelet order by heart and most of their names! I thought that really spoke to the community-feel that the students referred to over and over. Athletics, both intercollegiate (D-2) and club are at the heart of the school. SNHU participates in the Northeast 10 Conference in over 17 varsity sports. Men’s Soccer and Baseball top the sports programs, being nationally ranked. Students are very spirited and involved in things like Student Government, athletics, writing for The Penmen Press (school newspaper) or working for admissions. There are also over 65 clubs and organizations on campus.
SNHU is a test-optional school. They believe in looking for potential in students, not just numbers. They received 4,600 applications last year and accepted 3,800 with 1,000 enrolling. The average GPA was 3.03. They are a Rolling Admission school that also offers an Early Action option with a November 15 deadline. 90% of students receive financial aid. With tuition being $40,000 per year, the average package is $20,000. Qualified students with 2.5 GPA or higher may be eligible to receive academic scholarships and grants up to $18,000 per year.
Study Abroad at SNHU can take place in six esteemed universities across Europe. National University of Ireland, American University of Rome, Florence University of the Arts, Webster University (Vienna), Hellenic American University- Athens, and Institute for American Universities- Aix En Provence.
By cultivating connections between the classroom and community SNHU believes there are no limits to what their graduates can achieve. They are ready to make immediate contributions upon graduation. Beginning as early as freshman year, students are encouraged to explore career options and obtain internships. A brief sampling of companies that have hired SNHU graduates are: American Red Cross, Boston Celtics, Comcast, Dell, Ernst & Young, Marriott, Reebok and United Technologies. Students at SNHU can best be described as eager, ready, motivated, dependable and prepared. The students I met on campus seemed happy to be at SNHU. The most common crossover schools of the students I met were the University of New Haven and University of New Hampshire. www.snhu.edu