Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Students Give College for America at Southern New Hampshire University High Marks In Independent Survey

  • 01/19/15

MANCHESTER, NH — An independent survey of students commissioned by the Bill & Melissa Gates Foundation revealed remarkably high levels of student satisfaction and learning outcomes from College for America (CfA) at Southern New Hampshire University, including 99 percent recommending the school and 100 percent stating it is a good or very good value and 99 percent report that skills they learned in their program will help with future employment goals.

This past summer, the Gates Foundation hired nonprofit researchers to survey every student and graduate of College for America at Southern New Hampshire University to understand the student perspective of this degree program. Said one student of the school: “There’s not a better educational value on planet Earth if a person is willing to work hard.”

Kristine Clerkin, executive director of College for America, says, “We put our students at the center of all of our efforts here, and we’re thrilled to know that they’re reporting positive experiential, educational, and workforce-related outcomes.”

To view the results of the survey, see collegeforamerica.org/Gates-Survey.

Key data points from the students who responded (n=172 for the survey; varies slightly by question) include:

  • 99% of students would recommend CfA to friends, family, and/or coworkers.
  • 100% believe the CfA program is a good value.
  • 97% rate the quality of interaction with their CfA Coach as very good or good.
  • 85% say CfA projects have increased skills related to their current job(s).
  • 99% report that skills they learned in their program will help with future employment goals.

The survey was conducted by Georgia Institute of Technology and WestEd for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. For more information about the survey, contact Joe McCrary at WestEd at 470/225-4955. WestEd is a national not-for-profit agency that works to ensure high-quality education and healthy development from cradle through career. Visit WestEd online at www.WestEd.org.

While not a new concept, competency-based education has reentered the spotlight this past summer when the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed legislation to advance competency-based education. It was also featured when Under Secretary of Education Ted Mitchell announced the continuation of a program designed to support student-focused, outcomes-based higher education.

In 2013, College for America (CfA) became the nation’s first competency-based, fully accredited higher education provider to be approved for federal financial aid, independent of the traditional credit hour model, for its associate’s degree. In May 2014, the school announced the approval of the first nationally available, accredited $10,000 bachelor’s degree in communications.

About College for America at Southern New Hampshire University
College for America (CfA) offers affordable, workforce-applicable higher education to working adults by partnering with employers nationwide. Since its 2013 launch, CfA has enrolled more than 1,000 students from more than 70 employers, including Wellpoint/Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, the University of Pennsylvania Health System, McDonald’s and Goodwill International.

Southern New Hampshire University is an accredited, nonprofit, private university with a focus on student success and a reputation for innovation in higher education. SNHU was named one of the “50 Most Innovative Organizations in the World” by Fast Company magazine in 2012 and is the fastest-growing nonprofit provider of online higher education in the country. The university’s home is a 300-acre main campus in Manchester, NH, and it offers more than 200 undergraduate and graduate online degree programs, five continuing education centers across Northern New England, and the College for America degree program for working adults and employers.

Featured

  • Montclair State University Starts Construction on $120M STEM Building

    Montclair State University in Montclair, N.J., recently broke ground on a new $120-million Interdisciplinary Science Building, according to university news. The university partnered with HoK Architects for the project’s design, and it’s scheduled to open in time for the 2028–29 academic year.

  • Classical building columns display digital data streams

    The Campus Nervous System: Why Facilities Risk Is Now a Leadership Issue in Higher Education

    Facility performance now intersects with safety, compliance, on-campus experience, institutional reputation, and financial resilience. That places it firmly on the leadership agenda.

  • Q&A: How to Prevent Kitchen Grease Fires in Commercial Kitchens

    School cafeterias and university dining halls serve thousands of meals daily, relying on high-heat equipment like fryers, grills, and ovens. While these operations keep students fed, they also generate significant grease-laden vapors. Without proper controls, this grease becomes a silent fire threat. As a certified exhaust cleaning specialist and business coach who has helped hundreds of institutional facilities achieve NFPA 96 compliance, I emphasize that proactive grease management isn’t optional; it’s a core fire/life safety practice.

  • UT-San Antonio Begins Residence Hall Renovations

    The University of Texas at San Antonio recently began a $6-million renovation project to one of its residence halls, according to a news release. Originally completed in 1986, Chisolm Hall measures in at 120,860 square feet and is the oldest and largest residence hall on campus.