Competency-Based Education Defined

Transcription

1 Competency-Based Education Defined Judith Sebesta, Ph.D., Executive Director, Institute for Competency-Based Education, Texas A&M University-Commerce With contributions from: Ginger Gossman, Ph.D., Senior Director, Innovation and Policy Development, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Mary Hendrix, Ph.D., Vice President for Student Access and Success, Texas A&M University-Commerce Linda Smarzik, Dean of Computer Studies and Advanced Technology, Austin Community College Paul Turcotte, Program Director, Strategic Planning and Funding, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board David Young, Senior Director, Strategic Planning and Funding, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board March 2016 Background Although competency-based education is not new, a perfect storm of societal and educational conditions has brought it to the fore in the twenty-first century as a viable and effective mode for postsecondary credential attainment. 1 Nationally, an unpredictable economy, industry and workplace changes, global connectivity, and the digital age, as cited by Public Agenda in their report The Competency-Based Education Ecosystem Framework, are all external conditions affecting the landscape of higher education, leading to the development of alternative pathways like competency-based 1 Many agree that its origins in the U.S. date to the late 1960s. See, for example, Hill, P. (2013). Competency-Based Education: An (Updated) Primer for Today s Online Market. e-literate. Dec. 1. Retrieved from 1

2 education (CBE). 2 At the state level, Texas recently adopted its new strategic plan for higher education, 60x30TX. All four goals of this plan attainment, completion, marketable skills, and student debt can make progress through CBE programs. Competency-based education is, in fact, mentioned as a strategy to serve adult/nontraditional student populations under both the attainment and completion goals. These two goals are not dissimilar to higher education agendas in many states across the U.S. However, there is little agreement on exactly what CBE is, resulting in confusion at best and, at worst, potentially leading to the dismissal of this very promising pathway before it has a chance to fulfill that promise. Attempts to develop common frameworks and languages around CBE have helped alleviate confusion (see, for example, the Public Agenda report referenced on the previous page, as well as Public Agenda s Shared Design Elements and Emerging Practices, or Clarifying Competency Based Education Terms, a collaboration between Blackboard and the American Council on Education). Until recently, though, the regulatory environment from federal and state education agencies to regional and national accreditors has done little to address the confusion, instead relying on strokes so broad as to make their attempts at defining CBE both unwieldy and ineffective. This policy brief is a collaborative attempt by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Institute for Competency-Based Education to take a stand in this landscape of confusion. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) provides leadership and coordination for Texas higher education throughout the state. Since being created by the Texas Legislature in 1965, the THECB has worked to achieve excellence in the college education of Texas students. Its mission is to promote access, affordability, quality, success, and cost efficiency in the state's institutions of higher education through strategic plans such as Closing the Gaps and the current plan, 60x30TX. The current plan, in particular, focuses on a globally competent workforce that positions Texas as an international leader in an increasingly complex world economy. Based on the campus of Texas A&M University-Commerce, the Institute for Competency-Based Education (ICBE) is the first research institute in Texas and one of only a handful of similar organizations nationwide focused on experimentation and research through key partnerships to advance the understanding of competency-based education (CBE). It serves as a collaboratory for innovation to assist institutions and state agencies with the development of competencybased programs; work with policymakers and others to determine the effectiveness of competency-based programs; and 2 Public Agenda (2015). The Competency-Based Education Ecosystem Framework. December. Retrieved from BasedEducationEcosystemFramework_PublicAgenda_2015.pdf 2

3 share best practices in the development, implementation, and study of competency-based education. The ICBE was created in 2015 through exceptional item funding from the 84 th Texas Legislature. We recognize that CBE is an umbrella over a broad range of practices that are shaped by the context in which CBE is developed and implemented, and we appreciate the value that multiple perspectives can bring to any set of practices. 3 But we also see a compelling need for a shared language and understanding of this mode of education, and pragmatically, a calibrated statewide definition of CBE helps alleviate problems related to state funding and financial aid. Developed over a period of about six months, our definition is intended to be concise, touching on key elements that differentiate CBE from other traditional modes of education (including non-cbe online modalities, which interestingly are increasingly included in the category of traditional ). It is broad enough to encompass a range of CBE practices, including both course-based and direct assessment, while aligning with current standards set by the U.S. Department of Education and the primary accrediting body of Texas public institutions of higher education, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (and its parent organization, the Council of Regional Accrediting Commissions, or C-RAC). We developed this definition through an iterative process, including through consultation with a number of stakeholders who have diverse and deep knowledge of CBE theory and practice and of higher education funding and financial aid. Ours is not the only definition of CBE available; we recognize that there may not be consensus on the key characteristics we have identified for CBE. Thus, this brief not only presents our definition but also addresses our chosen key characteristics individually. It is our hope that this definition and brief will contribute to the ongoing, productive, and often exciting discussion and debate around how best to define competency-based education. Competency-Based Education Defined Competency-based education allows students to progress toward completion, often at their own pace, as they demonstrate mastery measured through authentic assessment of a defined set of knowledge and skills. Programs may be organized around traditional course-based units, but this is not required. A majority of the curriculum must include regular and substantive facultyinitiated interaction. 3 To this end, we include an appendix with a number of other definitions from agencies and organizations with interests in CBE, such as the U.S. Department of Education, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the Competency-Based Education Network, EDUCAUSE, and the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning. 3

4 Competency Competency must be addressed as a key component of this education model, as it is inherent in the title of this model. Just as there are multiple definitions of CBE, there are many definitions of competency. C-RAC defines a competency as a statement of what students can do as a result of their learning at an institution of higher education. According to the American Council on Education, a competency is a specific skill, knowledge, or ability that is learnable, observable, and measurable. The U.S. Department of Education simply defines it as what a student knows and can do. 4 Most other definitions of the term do not deviate significantly from these. Knowledge is a key component to competency-based education; indeed, the acquisition of knowledge is critical in all education. However, in CBE specifically, application of that knowledge, particularly in real-world settings, is equally important to acquisition. Mastery We include mastery in our definition because it refers to the level of knowledge and skills obtained in a CBE program. Mastery is based on measurable outcomes, not inputs like seat time or hours spent in a classroom. This concept is somewhat controversial. Traditionalists argue that all higher education aims for mastery of material and does not rely merely on the measure of time a student spends learning. From a traditionalist s point of view, faculty members (or other subject matter experts, such as graduate assistants) assess the amount of learning in any given semester/term, by assigning a course grade. Yet, what exactly constitutes mastery is open to interpretation. In traditional courses and programs, students pass a course with a D or better, suggesting that they have learned enough to move to the next course or level, or to graduate. 5 Even within CBE, there is a wide range of designations of how/when a student reaches mastery. However, many programs set the level of mastery at 80 percent or higher to ensure that they produce students prepared to succeed, whether success is moving on 4 Council of Regional Accrediting Commissions (2015). Regional Accreditors Announce Common Framework for Defining and Approving Competency- Based Education Programs. June 2. Retrieved from com/sites/default/server_files/files/c-rac%20cbe%20statement%20press%20 Release%206_2.pdf; American Council on Education (2014). Infographic: What Competency-Based Education Looks Like. September 9. Retrieved from Competency-Based-Education-Looks-Like.aspx; U.S. Department of Education (2014). Competency-Based Education Programs- Questions and Answers. December 18. Retrieved from 5 Critics of the traditional grading system point out that within this system, students can pass without having actually learned 40 percent of the material far from mastery or even, some might argue, competency. 4

5 to the next level of higher education, entering the workforce, or attaining a better position or a desired promotion. An intended consequence of setting the required mastery at a high level is that learning becomes the constant, time the variable. As a result, employers know that graduates from CBE programs have mastered every competency, often aligned with industry standards, and usually this demonstration of knowledge and skills can be found in artifacts that provide evidence of learning, helping to increase employer satisfaction and trust in the academy and the graduates it produces. While a link to the workforce is not explicit in our definition of CBE, it is implicit through our inclusion of mastery as a key characteristic of CBE. Course-Based Units Our definition addresses course-based units because these units are omnipresent in postsecondary education delivery and financing. The Carnegie unit, also known as the credit hour, has been firmly entrenched within higher education for a century, organizing and structuring many of its practices. 6 So it is no surprise that many CBE programs map their competencies back to these units. However, others rely on direct assessment of competency mastery and make no attempt to correlate learning with a traditional unit such as the semester credit hour. The advantages of mapping to a credit hour include ease of transfer of credits and alignment with both accreditation standards and financial aid regulations. Advocates of direct assessment tend to believe that true innovation in higher education cannot occur until it breaks fully from the Carnegie unit. Direct assessment supports the flexibility and evidence of learning that makes CBE so attractive to many students and educators alike. Recent federally supported experiments in direct assessment signal recognition on the part of the U.S. Department of Education that this break could potentially further innovation in higher education. 7 Self-Paced An advantage that many CBE programs offer students is the ability to advance when, and only when, content is mastered. This advancement might happen more quickly than traditional programs when a student already possesses the required knowledge or skills, or more slowly when a student needs more time to learn and demonstrate mastery. The self-paced nature of many programs means that some students can accelerate their progress to a credential. This acceleration may save both time and money and potentially reduce debt, as well as allow them to more rapidly pursue additional postsecondary education, employment or advancement at a current job, or both. Most CBE programs include self-paced as a description of their curriculum delivery, so we include it in our definition of this education model. 6 For a discussion of both the history of the Carnegie unit and current controversies surrounding it, see Silva, E., White, T., & Toch, T. (2015). The Carnegie Unit: A Century- Old Standard in a Changing Education Landscape. Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. January. Retrieved from 7 See 5

6 Assessment The presence of competence and mastery must be captured through some form of assessment; thus, a crux of CBE is carefully designed assessment of learning. 8 We prefer the term authentic assessment as an indicator of the importance of assessing not only the attainment of knowledge and skills, but also the ability to apply both to real-world settings. CBE often includes a wide range of assessment practices, e.g., formative (periodic, ongoing) assessment and summative assessment. Curriculum Along with carefully designed assessments, a CBE program by definition also offers a carefully crafted curriculum of instruction, which is available to students who need it. Educators who help design and deliver the program cannot anticipate which students will need instruction, or when, as they move through competencies and courses. Therefore, all knowledge and skills deemed necessary for mastery of any given competency must be available through instruction and learning materials. The design of these can be an extremely time-consuming process that may be significantly underestimated by framers of a CBE program. And in our opinion, faculty members are a crucial part of both the development and delivery of the curricula. Regular and Substantive Interaction This is a key characteristic of CBE in our definition because it is key in the federal definition of CBE. The U.S. Department of Education requires that CBE programs include regular and substantive interaction between students and instruction, to be Title IV eligible. 9 This interaction must be initiated by the faculty member, not just the student. CBE programs that do not meet this requirement are considered correspondence programs and are thus ineligible for Title IV financial aid. We are well versed in the controversy around the inclusion of regular and substantive interaction in the federal definition. This requirement has been identified by many CBE stakeholders, both individuals and organizations, as a significant barrier to competency-based education and its ability to gain traction and scale up. Russell Poulin, director of policy and analysis for the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies (WCET), recently declared in Inside Higher Ed that [r]egular and substantive has to go, sparking a passionate discussion on the WCET listserv that included debates regarding the complicated nature of documenting this requirement. 10 Fortunately, new technology allows for capturing online faculty-student interactions in a consistent format ready for analysis and dissemination. Even though there is controversy at the national level, we must align our 8 CBE and Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) often are conflated. See Appendix B for a discussion of the relationship between the two. 9 United States Department of Education (2014). Competency-Based Education Programs Questions and Answers. December /attachments/gen1423.pdf 10 Fain, P. (2016). The Faculty Role Online, Scrutinized. Inside Higher Ed. January 15. Retrieved from 6

7 state definition with federal guidelines to ensure students receive the maximum benefit from CBE programs in Texas, including access to financial aid. If the federal definition related to regular and substantive interaction is modified, we will modify our state definition, too. However, we doubt this component will be eliminated altogether. It is our belief that relationships between faculty and students cited in much research as key to student success should continue to play an integral role in CBE programs. Conclusion Competency-Based Education is one of the most promising practices to support alternative pathways to higher education credentials, particularly for growing numbers of nontraditional students, including working adults. Such innovations are key in order to meet both state and national attainment goals. As Mark Leuba declared in Competency-Based Education: Technology Challenges and Opportunities, it is perhaps the model of education for the 21st century. 11 We hope a calibrated state definition of this education model will help CBE fulfill that promise. Appendix A Key CBE Definitions 12 US Dept. of Ed December 2014 Dear Colleague Letter Competency-based education (CBE) is an innovative approach in higher education that organizes academic content or delivery according to competencies what a student knows and can do rather than following a more traditional scheme, such as by course. U.S. Dept. of Education website Transitioning away from seat time, in favor of a structure that creates flexibility, allows students to progress as they demonstrate mastery of academic content, regardless of time, place, or pace of learning. Competency-based strategies provide flexibility in the way that credit can be earned or awarded, and provide students with personalized learning opportunities. These strategies include online and blended learning, dual enrollment and early college high schools, project-based and community-based learning, and credit recovery, among others. This type of learning leads to better student engagement because the content is relevant to each student and tailored to their [sic] unique needs. It also leads to better student outcomes because the pace of learning is customized to each student. 11 Leuba, M. (2015). Competency-Based Education: Technology Challenges and Opportunities. EDUCAUSE Review. October 12. Retrieved from /2015/10/competency-based-education-technologychallenges-and-opportunities 12 As of this writing, a discussion draft of a bill, introduced by U.S. Representatives Matt Salmon and Jared Polis, is circulating that would clarify CBE in an amendment to the Higher Education Act of 1965, and it includes a definition of CBE as well as additional metrics for CBE. If the HEA finally is renewed in 2016, it will be interesting to see what language re: CBE is included. 7

8 Council of Regional Accrediting Commissions (C-RAC) In general, competency-based education (CBE) is an outcomes-based approach to earning a college degree or other credential. Competencies are statements of what students can do as a result of their learning at an institution of higher education. While competencies can include knowledge or understanding, they primarily emphasize what students can do with their knowledge. Students progress through degree or credential programs by demonstrating competencies specified at the course and/or program level. The curriculum is structured around these specified competencies, and satisfactory academic progress is expressed as the attainment or mastery of the identified competencies. Because competencies are often anchored to external expectations, such as those of employers, to pass a competency students must generally perform at a level considered to be very good or excellent. SACS-COC A competency-based educational program is outcome-based and assesses a student s attainment of competencies as the sole means of determining whether the student earns a degree or a credential. Such programs may be organized around traditional course-based units (credit or clock hours) that students must earn to complete their educational program, or may depart from course-based units (credit or clock hours) to rely solely on the attainment of defined competencies. CBEinfo (Joint site of U.S. Department of Labor and Gates Foundation) A key characteristic that distinguishes courses in a CBE program from other courses is that students can progress at their own pace. They make progress toward course objectives based on demonstrating the knowledge and skills required at each step (or module) along the way. That is, learning becomes the constant and is demonstrated through mastery of learning objectives, or competencies and time becomes the variable. C-BEN Competency-based education combines an intentional and transparent approach to curricular design with an academic model in which the time it takes to demonstrate competencies varies and learning is held constant. Students acquire and demonstrate their knowledge and skills by engaging in learning exercises, activities and experiences that align with clearly defined programmatic outcomes. Students receive proactive guidance and support from faculty and staff. Learners earn credentials by demonstrating mastery through multiple forms of assessment, often at a personalized pace. CAEL Competency-based degree programs focus more on what students learn, rather than where or how long the learning takes place. Instead of evaluating student progress on the amount of time spent in a classroom (using the credit hour, which is the default standard for measuring progress), students receive college credit based on their actual 8

9 demonstration of skills learned. Because many competency-based education (CBE) programs have been designed to allow students to learn and progress at their own pace, students with learning from life and work experience can save considerable time in earning a degree. In addition, some of the newest CBE models have leveraged technology in order to lower the cost. But above all, CBE programs are designed to improve the quality of higher education by putting the focus squarely on demonstrated learning outcomes. EDUCAUSE Review A typical CBE program has a curriculum structured to demonstrate learning in clearly articulated competencies, is often self-paced, is agnostic as to the source of learning while maintaining clear and transparent learning standards, and has an emphasis on authentic assessment, which evaluates what the learner knows and can do through reallife demonstrations and projects. Competency-Based Education (CBE) Experiment Reference Guide There are many types of CBE programs, and there is currently no Federal definition for these educational methods. However, in general, a CBE program is one that organizes content according to what a student knows and can do, often referred to as a competency. CBE programs also generally have very clear claims for student learning, stress what students can do with the knowledge and skills they acquire, and have assessments that provide measurable evidence of competency. Student progress is determined by mastery of each competency. Because CBE focuses on whether students have mastered these competencies, there is a focus on learning outcomes rather than time spent in a classroom. Appendix B A not-uncommon but problematic practice is the conflation of CBE with Prior Learning Assessment (PLA). CBE is an outcomes-based program of instruction and learning, which requires enrollment in an academic program. In contrast, PLA is a formal process that gives students the opportunity to obtain academic credit for one or more competencies or courses in a certificate, diploma, or degree program without actually being enrolled in an academic program. PLA may be conducted via various methods, including portfolio review, evaluation of military training by ACE, exams offered by College Board, Excelsior College, etc. CBE and PLA often are confused because CBE may involve PLA, or often includes some assessment of learning gained before a student enters the program. This chart indicates points of similarity and difference between the two: CHARACTERISTICS CBE PLA Summative assessments Formative assessments 9

10 Awarding of academic credit pre-course Awarding of academic credit post-course Awarding of credential Requires enrollment in an academic program Curricula Competencies/Learning Outcomes Personalized/Adaptive Learning Interaction between faculty and students Certainly, as the chart indicates, CBE and PLA have points of intersection; in fact, the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning describes the relationship between the two as a competency continuum. 13 However, we see one significant difference as the curricula and instruction that CBE programs offer when students cannot rely on prior learning for credit. 13 Tate, P., & Klein-Collins, R. (2015). PLA and CBE on the Competency Continuum: The Relationship between Prior Learning Assessment and Competency-Based Education. Council for Adult and Experiential Learning. Retrieved from /cael-views-on-cbe-and-pla-oct