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 Importance of Collaboration in Competency-Based Education Programs
Brooks Doherty | Assistant Vice President of Academic Innovation, Rasmussen CollegeCall it self-paced. Call it time-fluid. The essential characteristic of competency-based education, or CBE, is that learning and its demonstration are prioritized over time spent learning. Whether the CBE program…
Designing a Mechanism to Assess CBE Quality
Charla Long | Executive Director, Competency-Based Education NetworkThough it’s not a new concept, there has been significant growth in recent years in the number of competency-based education (CBE) programs offered at colleges and universities across the United…
The Silent Learning Revolution in Higher Education: Crafting Strategies for a Changing World
Peter Smith | Orkand Chair and Professor of Innovative Practices in Higher Education, University of Maryland University CollegeIn June, Peter Smith published Free Range Learning in the Digital Age: The Emerging Revolution in College, Career and Higher Education. In it, Smith argues that technology has driven a…
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…