Online Schools: New Hampshire

The first colony to establish an independent government as well as a state constitution, New Hampshire continues to empower its citizens to "Live Free or Die." New Hampshire was the first among the thirteen colonies to break away from Great Britain in 1776 and played a significant role in ratifying the United States Constitution. The state is internationally known for the New Hampshire Primary, the first primary election in the United States presidential election cycle, and for its "no tax" policy on sales and personal income. With some of the largest national forests and lakes in New England, New Hampshire's outdoor attractions include skiing, snowmobiling, hiking, and water skiing. Recently, the state has taken bold steps in developing its online schools in order to offer students greater educational flexibility, opportunity, and choice.

The Virtual Learning Academy Charter School is New Hampshire’s first statewide on-line high School, offering 64 college prep, Honors, and Advanced Placement courses. The Exeter Region Cooperative School District (SAU 16) initiated the Academy as an independent organization, which began enrolling students in January of 2007. The school receives state-funded tuition through New Hampshire's Education Trust Fund, which supports New Hampshire's charter schools. In addition to state funds, VLACS receives funding from its out-of-state students, who must pay tuition to attend the school. The numbers, especially student enrollments, show the beginning of a promising future for online schools in New Hampshire. In January 2007, the Academy had about 700 enrollments. Two years later, enrollment increased to 7,400.

Additionally, student growth has increased the Academy’s teaching staff from an initial 40 to 150 certified instructors. The number of participating towns and cities in New Hampshire has nearly doubled from 126 to 209 over the past two years. Recently, the Academy has implemented programs to include an online math class for middle school students. Its program eStart partners with the Community College System of New Hampshire to offer high school students dual course credit—at the secondary and college level.

New Hampshire's online schools for college students have experienced tremendous growth over the past few years. With its more than 50 online degree programs, New Hampshire Southern University (SNHU) is one of the leading postsecondary online programs throughout New England. U.S. News and World Report recently ranked SNHU as a top Tier 1 University, and New Hampshire Business Review awarded the school Best Online Degree for its extensive undergraduate and graduate Business programs. Other unique and notable areas of study include Justice Studies, Game Design and Development, and Social Entrepreneurship. SNHU offers support and resource for its online students, including academic advising, around-the-clock technical support, and the Shapiro Library, an online collection of books, journals, and databases.

The only other state school offering online courses is University of New Hampshire (UNH), which just began a pilot program in its School of Continuing Education this year. A select number of courses are being offered spring semester of 2012. Most are hybrid courses, but a course in Geography and Education are two courses offered completely online. The summer online courses are accelerated courses for which students may receive four semester credits for three weeks of work. Students may take no more than three courses throughout the summer. The University plans to offer more than 65 e-courses for the summer of 2012. If student enrollment continues to increase in these online schools, New Hampshire is likely to develop and expand its postsecondary distance learning programs.

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