In his state of the union address in February, President Obama asked for legislative help in making higher education more accessible to American students.
“So tonight, I ask Congress to change the Higher Education Act so that affordability and value are included in determining which colleges receive certain types of federal aid. And tomorrow, my administration will release a new “College Scorecard” that parents and students can use to compare schools based on a simple criteria -- where you can get the most bang for your educational buck.”
The President’s calls for reform come at a time when an estimated 40 million Americans want to go further with their education. Beyond the rhetoric, Obama’s 2013 budget outlined plans to overcome common barriers to getting a degree, including access, affordability, and completion. An initiative from Southern New Hampshire University is looking to change that.
SNHU announced today that its competency based model has obtained approval from the Department of Education to be eligible for Title IV, Higher Education Act funding. SNHU’s pilot program – called College for America -- is the first in the nation to be approved for federal funding by the D.O.E..
We last spoke to Paul LeBlanc, President of SNHU, when the school was named -- along with Apple, Facebook, and Twitter – on Fast Company’s list of the world’s most innovative companies. He spoke with us then about the need to disrupt the current higher education model, and joins us to talk about the breakthrough announced today. Also joining us is a student enrolled in College for America, Brooks Clemens.
