Competency-based education is an educational delivery model which assesses a students mastery of pre-defined competencies for advancement toward a credential. Competency-based education uses learning instead of time as the measure of student success. Inherent to this model's use of defined learning outcomes, CBE leads to greater transparency and accountability to students and stakeholders. While many are still debating the definition of 'competency,' programs are growing rapidly to help meet national completion goals.
Many competency-based education programs appeal to the many students with some credits but no degree. Competency-based programs offer the flexibility, defined outcomes which increase employability, and acceptance of prior learning that make them attractive to this burgeoning demographic.
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WCET Resources
Frontiers Blog
Webcast Archives
Events
- WCET 2016 Annual Meeting session slides: Game Change: The theory, practice, and possibilities of competency-based …
- Sustainability Planning Tool for Competency-based Education Flipped Session Video - September 2016
- WCET 2014 Leadership Summit: Designing Alternative Pathways to Credentials
- "Speed Date" Competency-based Education Programs - Video - October 2016
- "Speed Date" Competency-based Education Programs - Slides - October 2016
External Resources
Additional Resources
- Advancing Competency Based Pathways to College and Career Readiness - Achieve
- An Overview of Competency Based Education - Lumina Foundation
- CBE Info - Western Governors University
- Competency-Based Education Network (C-BEN)
- The Currency of Higher Education Credits and Competencies - Blackboard
- Degree Qualifications Profile
- Direct Assessment Competency-based Programs - Policy Statement - Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Comm…
- Experimental Sites Initiative - Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of Education
- Institute for Competency-Based Education - Texas A&M University
- Lessons from a Competency-Based Education Experiment - Chronicle of Higher Education
- Lumina Foundation Strategy Labs
- U.S. Department of Education Letter to Accrediting Agency Executive Directors - Inside Higher Ed
- Competency-based Education Cost Model (NCHEMS)
- The Journal of Competency-Based Education - Wiley Online Library
- A Natural Fit? Overview of Competency-Based Education - New America