The evolution of a distance university during the pandemic: from 2,800 to 180,000 students

Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) has become the largest distance university in the United States, where today it houses almost 180,000 students, the same population as the cities of Burgos and Albacete (Spain).

According to El País, 18 years ago it had 2,800 students who have been increasing exponentially until now thanks to the management of its rector, Paul Leblanc, whose idea is to reach 300,000 university students for the next three years and equal the population of the cities of Valladolid or Vigo.

The success caused by Leblanc seems to be a “secret formula” that seeks to be copied by various US institutions.

Founded in 1932 to train the military, this university located in the city of Manchester It barely had 16 workers who made up the digital area and a minimum number of distance students when Paul Leblanc – son of Canadian immigrants – took office in 2003.

The popularity gained by Southern New Hampshire University is due to the ingenious method used by its rector to create personalized training routes for each student with the more than 300 advisors after passing a personal interview.

Likewise, university students must answer a form developed by the institution’s specialists together with Google.

End of traditional exams

“Why attend a class on something you already know? Why not validate those skills? The university has to be built for each one “Leblanc told El País after participating in the Global Education Forum, held in Madrid, where he met with Education students from the Camilo José Cela University.

In his book Seeking Purpose in an Age of Reform, Professor Johann Neem is shown as a detractor of the system used by the rector of the Southern New Hampshire University because, as he explains, this method leaves aside questions of debate and reflection, every institution must provide the student.

“You don’t just learn in the classroom. If you have a 26-year-old military [el 18% de sus estudiantes ha pasado por el ejército] Who led a group in Afghanistan and comes back, probably knows a lot about leadership. How do we catch this learning? “, details Leblanc.

“For that we make a skills map: What do you know? And what can you do with what you know? Because that’s what employers are interested in. In a newsroom, it doesn’t matter if you know the structure of an article if you are unable to write it “he continued.

The SNHU aims to finish with the exams that are developed in a traditional way through simulations: “Let them show what they know how to do. We work a lot with employers to find out what skills and abilities they require and we adapt the assessment “commented the rector.

A student who passes several micro-credentials -specialization courses- at SNHU can get a bachelor’s degree as long as he follows certain basic subjects.