Writing in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Susan Snyder explains the transfer agreement between the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges, representing 14 community colleges in the state, and Southern New Hampshire University. Under the terms of the agreement students transferring from the community colleges could transfer as many as 90 credits into bachelors degree programs at SNHU.
SNHU will give the PA students a 10% tuition reduction and charge $288 per credit or $864 per course. This means that the Southern New Hampshire online degree option will be less costly than most other options within Pennsylvania. SNHU has a similar statewide agreement with community colleges in Kentucky.
The development of such transfer agreements from community colleges to online degree programs represents an interesting networking arrangement that has the potential to expand low cost degree options for students for whom cost has been a barrier to college completion. This case illustrates the kind of concrete moves that large online degree providers are making to solidify their position. It will be worth watching the Pennsylvania and Kentucky agreements to see just how many students select the SMHU online option to complete their undergraduate studies.
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