Preparing Students for Competency-Based Education at Northern Arizona University

Transcription

1 Preparing Students for Competency-Based Education at Northern Arizona University

2 Overview Launched end of May 2013 with three degree programs: Computer Information Technology, Liberal Arts, and Small Business Administration Entirely online using a cutting-edge interface to control everything from course selection to payment Self-paced and competency-based The opportunity to demonstrate competency with a pretest in each lesson Instead of semesters, Personalized Learning offers six-month subscriptions Flat rate of $2,500 and there are no additional program-related fees Each student is assigned a faculty mentor as a guide

3 Personalized Learning Degrees and Structure

4 Degrees Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree options in the following majors: Computer Information Technology Small Business Administration Liberal Arts Specific degree detail can be found in the NAU online academic catalogue,

5 What is Competency- Based Education? Competency a skill or conceptual understanding demonstrated by all NAU Personalized Learning graduates. To earn a degree, students must demonstrate proficiency in all competencies through analysis or application of the subject matter described. Competencies are intentionally cross-disciplinary, and consistently reinforce how students can apply multiple approaches to solving realworld problems

6 Degree Diagram Requirement Milestones (Min. 120 units) Minor Area Major Area units, no transfer credit accepted 18 units, waived with an Associate Degree, 64+ transfer units, or 18 unused electives Foundations Area 7 units, English and Math Language or Science Area 16 units Liberal Studies 25 units Lesson Lesson Lesson Lesson Lesson Lesson Lesson Lesson Lesson Lesson Lesson Lesson Lesson For illustrative purposes only. The number of lessons varies per competency.

7 Structure of Lesson

8 Graded Activities

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10 The Sum of All Lessons = Diploma Each program totals 120 units and contains all the degree requirements in any NAU undergraduate degree. The student and mentor track progress real-time in the student dashboard, the hub and entry point for all activity. As lessons are completed, they are recorded on a competency transcript. When a student completes all the pieces or lessons comprising a traditional credit hour course, the grade (A or B only) is recorded on the student s traditional transcript. Each program results in a diploma, awarded at the end of the traditional term in which the student completes all required lessons, either through a Pretest or Posttest.

11 Accreditation All degrees offered at Northern Arizona University are fully accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. For more information, visit

12 What Your Transfer Students Should Know About Personalized Learning

13 Admission Requirements The admission requirements for Personalized Learning are the same as those established by the Arizona Board of Regents and NAU. Additionally, students must pass a Readiness Assessment prior to beginning their Personalized Learning program.

14 Transfer Polices All current NAU transfer credit policies apply to Personalized Learning degrees, we accept... all transferable credits from regionally accredited four-year institutions 64 transfer credits from regionally accredited two-year colleges 35 military ACE credits- these may be petitioned to fulfill specific course requirements credit-by-exam credit (ie. CLEP, DANTES, etc.)

15 Transfer Policies An AGEC fulfills all liberal studies and diversity requirements An IGETC fulfills all liberal studies but not diversity requirements An Associate Degree fulfills the minor milestone degree requirement Transfer units are not applied to major or minor milestones

16 Transfer Policies Personalized Learning students will not receive transfer credit for work and/or life experience. If students have previous knowledge in a field they may be successful pretesting out of a lesson. (Example- If Joe has been a computer programmer for 10 years he doesn t automatically receive credit for this experience, but it may help him pretest out of CIT 121-Foundations of Computer Information Technology)

17 Transferring Out of Personalized Learning Personalized Learning programs are intended to be completed as an integrated degree program. The programs are not designed for students to take individual courses for transfer to another program or to another institution.

18 Transcripts Students will be issued an NAU transcript upon completion of degree requirements. Completed NAU courses will be officially recorded onto the NAU transcript at the end of each NAU traditional term. Additionally, a competency report will be available once the student completes all degree requirements.

19 Degree Conferral Degrees are awarded four times per year: Fall, Spring, Summer, and Winter terms

20 Student Dashboard

21 Student Dashboard Transcript Tracker

22 Student Dashboard Lesson Map

23 Interested Students? Visit: nau.edu/personalized to set up a student profile and download an Information Packet Help the student to decide if Personalized Learning is a good fit using the selfassessment tool

24 Personalized Learning Professional Staff Pre-Admission/Prospective Students Prior Learning and Transfer Credit Post- Admission and Student Payments

25 Questions??