Special Academic Programs
Special Academic Programs SNHU Advantage Program The SNHU Advantage program is a full-time undergraduate program offered at our Salem location. This program is offered as a morning cohort model, allowing students to earn up to 72 credits towards a bachelors degree in one of 40 majors, without giving up a job, moving away from home or paying full-time tuition rates. Students will earn up to 36 credits per year leading to an Associate of Arts in Liberal Arts. SNHU Advantage features three 12-week terms, small classes—no more than 20 students, and dedicated instructors with real-world experience. Services and opportunities included are on-site academic advising, tutoring, access to the library, and our career development center resources. For information and instructions on how to apply, contact Karen Goodman at 603.881.8393 or at k.goodman@snhu.edu.
First Year Seminar: Scholarship for Success SNHU 101 Course Description Scholarship for Success is a course designed to help students develop essential skills that integrate academic, personal, and social development, aid in the transition to university life and prepare students for success at SNHU. Critical thinking is a significant competency that relates to each of these three areas and is woven throughout the course. Students will do lessons and activities tied to the course curriculum that connect personal and social development with critical thinking. It is recognized that mature personal and social skills are direct contributors to success in the classroom. Such “precursor” skills include: time management, study-skills, schedule organization, multi-level interpersonal interactions, accessing help, and using university support services (library, advising, learning center, etc.). The common theme to these skill-sets is the requirement for critical thinking and decisionmaking. It is also clear that development of these skills helps in maneuvering social life at SNHU and in facing personal challenges as a college freshman. To help achieve these goals, course objectives will reflect outcomes in all three areas.
SNHU 101 Details SNHU 101 serves as an introduction to college and collegelevel work. It is a course that helps prepare students for academic, social and personal success at SNHU through the structured practice of critical thinking and decision making. Students will engage in collaborative efforts that generate, integrate, and apply knowledge. The personal and social responsibilities involved are built upon reflection and selfawareness. Students will also gain knowledge about human cultures in their relationships to the physical and natural world. These outcomes are integral to the course as are written and verbal communication skills.
All sections of SNHU 101 pursue a common set of objectives and outcomes and use a common syllabus. Faculty members collaborate on best practices for lessons and activities to ensure consistency across sections and are measured in preand post-assessments. The context for the delivery of these outcomes may vary between sections to which students are assigned according to school/major. Examples are: • School of Business • School of Liberal Arts • School of Education • Justice Studies • Culinary Arts • Exploratory Studies Some hallmarks of SNHU 101 include problem-based discussions, group work/study, and other forms of “active learning” promoted by the individual instructor. Students engage in lessons and activities that strongly support the research process. Appropriate educational technologies are incorporated in support of teaching, learning and student research. Specific student deliverables include, but are not limited to: essays, group case studies and personal development plans. Students learn aspects of study skills through support of the SNHU Learning Center and information literacy through the library. In addition, the Advising Office and faculty will work closely to ensure strong advising/mentoring relationships with students.
E-Portfolio Students in SNHU 101 utilize Chalk and Wire,™ an e-portfolio tool, to develop an electronic document that demonstrates learning and active participation in the college environment. The portfolio serves a dual purpose: (1) students begin the four year process of creating a document that demonstrates skills, knowledge, and experience required by graduate schools and employers, and (2) faculty assess student academic progress with the use of standard criteria. For more information contact Polly St. Hilaire, Director of SNHU 101 at p.sthilaire@snhu.edu.
The University Honors Program The Southern New Hampshire University University Honors Program is a student-centered program dedicated to creating a first-class educational environment for an exceptional group of students. Especially motivated students are offered an atmosphere where academic excellence is expected, where a challenging curriculum fosters independent thinking in the company of like-minded individuals, and where participants are encouraged to be actively involved in their own education. The University Honors curriculum, which is a minimum of 25 percent of the student’s course work, consists of eleven courses and three kinds of experiences: honors sections taught in a seminar environment with approximately 15 students, honors labs and modules attached to regular university courses, and three Honors-specific program courses. These courses are Honors 201 and 202 (Interdisciplinary Studies) and Honors 401 (Honors Thesis). 31