Southern New Hampshire University Launches Major Refugee Education Initiative

MANCHESTER, NH – Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) has launched a major initiative to bring university degrees to refugees in the U.S. and around the world. Over the last decade, the refugee crisis has dramatically accelerated with 65.3 million displaced worldwide, and globally, less than one percent of refugees have access to higher education. This will be the first large scale initiative to bring American accredited university degrees to the most marginalized population in the world with a goal of educating 50,000 refugees in 20 locations by 2022.

Phase one of the initiative, a $10-million-dollar effort to bring SNHU's online, competency-based bachelor’s and associate degrees to refugees and others affected by displacement, was made possible by a group of anonymous donors.

"The refugee crisis will require concerted social, legal, and political action, but education holds the key to an alternative future of possibility," says Paul LeBlanc, president, SNHU. "At SNHU, we believe education is a fundamental human right, that's why we want to bring our degrees to some of the most underserved populations in the world."

SNHU has piloted its work with refugees in Rwanda, nearly 7,000 miles away from its Manchester, NH, campus. The program is offered at two sites in Rwanda, one in the Kiziba Refugee Camp where all students are refugee learners, and one in the capital city Kigali, where a substantial number of students are refugees. Collectively, the campuses enroll more than 500 students. This summer the first cohort of refugee students graduated with associate degrees from the Kiziba campus. All of the graduates are engaged in internships outside of the camp and are now working on their bachelor's degrees.

"We're giving refugees hope for the future, the tools to rebuild their lives, and a transformational opportunity," says Chrystina Russell, who leads the refugee learning initiative at SNHU. "Over the next five years, we will scale our work to many other locations, many of which are ready and eager to begin tomorrow."

In Rwanda, SNHU partners with Kepler, a nonprofit organization, to deliver competency-based degrees through a blended learning delivery model that offers in-person instruction and academic and employment support. The University will form similar partnerships with other organizations as it looks to expand into other countries. Phase one of the project will include sites in East Africa and the Middle East. SNHU will partner with the UN High Commission on Refugees, the Connected Learning in Crisis Consortium, SOLVE at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the American University of Beirut.

The initiative will also be guided by an advisory board with diverse backgrounds and experiences, including former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan; Dean of the Yale School of Architecture, Deborah Berke; and Director of Refugee Studies at the University of Oxford, Alexander Betts.

"Education remains the greatest source of hope and opportunity for people on the far margins of society," says Arne Duncan, advisory board member of the SNHU refugee initiative, and former U.S. Secretary of Education. "SNHU's work in the camps brings education to some of the most desperate and poorly served people in the world today."

Over the next two years, SNHU will begin programming at four new sites around the world. SNHU is also exploring ways to support the refugee population in Manchester, and is partnering with the YWCA NH to expand services locally.

Featured

  • New Kent State Academic Building Earns LEED Silver Certification

    Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, recently announced that its newest academic building, Crawford Hall, has earned a LEED Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, according to a news release. The facility was recognized for its innovative design, water conservation technologies, energy-efficient systems, and sustainable construction materials, among other features.

  • Longwood University Selects Builder for $73M Performing Arts Center

    Longwood University in Farmville, Va., recently announced that it has selected Swedish construction company Skanska as the builder of its new performing arts center, according to online news. The project involves the demolition of the current building and constructing a new, 64,500-square-foot facility.

  • Embry-Riddle Breaks Ground on New Office Building

    Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) in Daytona Beach, Fla., recently announced that construction has begun on a new office building for its campus Research Park, according to a news release. The university partnered with Hoar Construction on the 34,740-square-foot Center for Aerospace Technology II (CAT II), which will be used for research and lab purposes.

  • Pittsburgh High School Upgrades Athletics Facilities’ Technology

    Plum Senior High School in Pittsburgh, Penn., recently partnered with South-Dakota-based Daktronics through the We’re All Mustangs Here Foundation to upgrade the technology in its athletics facilities, according to a news release. Daktronics designed, built, and installed new LED video displays and finished the project in time for the beginning of the 2025 high-school football season.

Digital Edition