Thinkful announced an initiative with Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) that will allow students to apply their Thinkful certificates towards a degree program at SNHU. This new collaboration provides an accelerated pathway for Thinkful students to earn a college degree and underscores the value of skills-based education within higher education.
With the labor market in turmoil, and an increasing number of students underemployed or unemployed, there is a need to bridge the traditional college degree with the most in-demand modern job skills sought after in the market. Additionally, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans without a college degree still experience double the unemployment rates of those with a college degree and earn half the amount of an individual with a bachelor’s degree over their lifetime. This initiative will provide a new opportunity to make skills-based programs part of existing college degree programs.
“We are excited to be working with Thinkful to create new opportunities for students to pursue a college degree. In order to expand access to higher education we need to broaden our understanding of the education ecosystem and re-imagine the pathways toward a degree” said Paul LeBlanc, President, SNHU. “We are excited about this collaboration and the opportunity to help more students earn a college degree.”
The program:
- Will be available to all current and future Thinkful students;
- SNHU will apply transfer credits with no penalty adjustment to tuition;
- Students are able to apply Thinkful certificates for up to 18 credits toward specific degree programs;
- And all students must meet SNHU’s admissions requirements.
“We believe that this effort represents a new vision for higher education: affordable, collaborative, skills based, credentialed and rooted in the institution as a whole,” said Nathan Schultz, Chegg’s President of Learning Services. “The Thinkful team is thrilled about what this opportunity means for all current and future students, especially during these turbulent times.”