Paul LeBlanc

Under the 15 years of Dr. Paul LeBlanc’s direction, SNHU has more grown from 2,800 students to over 135,000 and is the largest non-profit provider of higher education in the country. SNHU pioneered the first full competency-based degree program untethered to the credit hour or classes approved by the US Department of Education. In 2012 the university was #12 on Fast Company magazine’s “World’s Fifty Most Innovative Companies” list and was the only university included. Forbes Magazine has listed him as one of its 15 “Classroom Revolutionaries” and one of the “most influential people in higher education” for 2016. In 2018, Paul won the prestigious IAA Institute Hesburgh Award for Leadership Excellence in Higher Education, joining some of the most respected university and college presidents in American higher education.

My Truth

A free college degree for any American who wants it. High quality, aligned with workforce needs, and accredited, this would be a respected and valuable degree – based on our pioneering College for America degree program – with a proven track record. To do it, we will need to think through the eco-system in which it is offered: what community- based partners, what civic institutions with which to partner (Libraries? School systems?), use of machine learning in assessment, workforce/ employers partners, infrastructure, and more.