Applied and Experiential Learning
With more adults enrolling in postsecondary programs, and with greater employer demand for work-ready graduates, the demand for programs that award credit based on subject mastery rather than time in class is growing. Adapting to this shift requires institutions to adapt their approach to managing and tracking learning.
The Four Reasons Your Campus Should be Offering Prior Learning Assessment Credit
Matt Bergman | Program Director and Research Faculty Member, University of LouisvillePrior Learning Assessment (PLA) is an interdisciplinary complement to a wide array of degree or certificate programs. PLA acknowledges and honors the college-level learning that is accrued outside the confines…
Expanding Prior Learning Assessment and the Changing Educational Landscape
Frances Turcott | Director of Special Projects, Anne Arundel Community CollegeI work at a community college and I am fiercely dedicated to its mission to meet learners where they are and provide them with access to lifelong learning and the…
Learning from WGU: Five Key Practices
David Leasure | President, Higher Learning Challenge, LLCWestern Governors University (WGU) celebrated the 20th year of its founding in July 2017. WGU is the largest and oldest institution of higher learning that offers online, competency-based education (CBE),…
An Overview of Competency-Based Education: Its Place in the Market and Gaining Stakeholder Buy-In
Michelle Solér | Director of Competency-Based Education and Assessment, University of North Carolina-General AdministrationWhen it comes to finding a common definition for alternative and innovative credentials, there doesn’t seem to a standard. What is innovative for some institutions has been in place at…
Navigating the CBE Frontier: Creative and Alternative Student Support for Creative and Alternative Models of Education
Aaron Brower | Provost, University of Wisconsin-ExtensionAs has been stated in many venues (including in The EvoLLLution), we simply need more alternative pathways to meet the nation’s demand for people with postsecondary degrees. Reaching the President’s…
Competency-Based Education Model Benefits Faculty As Well As Students
Michelle Solér | Director of Competency-Based Education and Assessment, University of North Carolina-General AdministrationA college degree signifies to an employer that a graduate can demonstrate multiple things, reading and writing at the very core of this skill set. Yet, national surveys show employer…
Is There A Continuum for Competency-Based Education?
Rhonda Tracy | Former Chancellor, Kentucky Community and Technical College SystemAfter attending a state meeting recently to discuss competency-based education with education leaders and consultants, I left with several thoughts about the breadth and depth of competency-based education. As states…