Overview of Competency-Based Education (CBE) for New Hampshire Women in Higher Ed Leadership Dr. Heidi Wilkes, Sr. Director, CAD and Acting CAO Stephanie Cheney, Assistant Director, CAD March 31, 2015 What is College for America (CfA)? Southern New Hampshire University Regionally accredited Private, non-profit University College Residential Campus (1932) College of Online and Continuing Education (2007) College for America (2012) 2 1
Let s hear Let s Let s hear from hear from you you you What is Competency-Based Education (CBE)? Focuses on the demonstration of articulated skills, knowledge and abilities Defines learning but makes time flexible Is not based on credit hours or seat time (though may need to translate to to credit hours for administrative or regulatory purposes) 2
What do we mean by a competency? Can- do statements Observable and measurable behavior ü Can nego%ate with others to resolve conflicts and seele disputes ü Can convey informagon by creagng charts and graphs ü Can dis%nguish fact from opinion ü Can recognize & ar%culate the ethical and moral implicagons of an issue ü Can represent pracgcal problems as mathema%cal expressions No Single Definition The defini%on of competency- based educa%on varies from insgtugon to insgtugon, depending on: The needs and objecgves of students The mission of the insgtugon Other program variables and constraints it is important to note that there is no conceptual agreement on what we now mean by the term competency across higher educagon sectors (Book, 2014) 3
How does workforce development fit with CBE? By learning about industry needs and the people who are in or entering jobs (poten%al students), curriculum developers becer understand: What the industry- specific current challenges and skill needs are How specific skills are applied in the workplace helping us to develop realisgc and relevant curriculum content/contexts What stands in the way of students having access to the educagon they need for the job How CBE Makes Sense Focus is on what individuals know and can do (not how long they sat in class) Employers speak competency Competency claims are explicit and supported by evidence Life and work experience can be brought to bear, speeding up progress for students who come with competencies Time is removed as a barrier students can progress at their own speed 4
How well do grades reflect competence? We may give points for: AEendance CompleGng homework and classwork ParGcipaGon Chose our own weigh%ng systems But are we: Always assessing learning? Assessing pracgcal applicagons of learning? When a student passes a course what exactly does the grade tell us about what the student knows and can do? CBE in a Credit/Course-Based World When learning is credit/course based challenge is Gme (how can students progress at their own rate?) When introducing CBE some ques%ons to consider: How many credit hours correspond to one competency unit? Is competency mastery a quesgon of pass or fail? What is the grade equivalent of a passed competency? How will sagsfactory progress in a program be measured? 5
CBE at College for America CfA s approach: 2 to 1 rago of competencies to credit hour (there are 120 competencies in the AA program) Academic progress measured by pace only Full Gme is 24 competencies per 6- month term (begins whenever the student starts) Students must complete 75% of 24 competencies per term AA is considered a 5 term program Competencies in Practice A strong competency statement: Reflects skills needed by employers Requires students to apply and demonstrate learning in a way that can be assessed Is created along with a clear descripgon of the evidence that s required as proof of mastery Is argculated in a way that is clear and accessible to students employers, and reviewers Acts as a building block to overall program mastery 6
Assessment in Practice Competency- based assessments should: Measure one or more competencies in context Be authengc within the bounds of the relevant content Allow evaluators to assess mastery of each competency disgnctly Include a clearly argculated rubric that facilitates evaluagon of all competency- based and other appropriate components of student work Use well trained and calibrated evaluators for all student work Why does this matter? 96% versus 11% Chief Academic Officers who think they re doing a good job Business leaders who strongly agree that graduates have the necessary skills and competencies to succeed in the workplace Inside Higher Ed 2014 survey of chief academic officers Gallup 2013 Survey of Business leaders 7
CBE Model Examples CfA NAU WGU UW(Flex Purdue Faculty(Role( Disaggregated Course CourseMentor(non< Faculty Individualfaculty SMEcurriculum Instructors, assessingexpert) develop mentors designandsme FacultyMentors Assessors competencies CfA reviewers NAU WGU UW(Flex &Assessments Purdue Delivery(Mode( Online Online Online Online(mostly) 36studentpilot alsocampus 2015<BAtraditional Faculty(Role( Disaggregated Course CourseMentor(non< Faculty Individualfaculty (esp.clinical) studentsfrompurdue SMEcurriculum Instructors, assessingexpert) develop mentors Self<paced campus designandsme FacultyMentors Assessors competencies Support( reviewers Coaches Socialspaces, StudentMentor< &Assessments MainPOCis FacultyMentor Communities(&( instructorsand generalistinsubject Academic TBD Delivery(Mode( Online Online Online Online(mostly) 36studentpilot Communication( facultymentors SuccessCoach alsocampus 2015<BAtraditional Modes( availableonline whoactsas (esp.clinical) studentsfrompurdue liaison Self<paced campus Onlinelearner community Reviewers give project<specific feedbackto students area,stayswith studentthrough program CourseMentor (course<specific) Contactwith mentorsthrough phone,webcam,im, texting,email, Facebookareafor studentinteraction between studentsand faculty CBE Model Examples CfA NAU WGU UW(Flex Purdue CfA NAU WGU UW(Flex Purdue CfA NAU WGU UW(Flex Purdue Curriculum( Projectbased Courses Coursesdesignedby Notspecified ConcurrentgroupC Curriculum( Projectbased Courses Coursesdesignedby Notspecified ConcurrentgroupC Approach( SMEs,basedon basedlearning Approach( SMEs,basedon basedlearning Curriculum( Projectbased AAGenEd Courses Coursesdesignedby competenciesand Notspecified ConcurrentgroupC sessions, AAGenEd competenciesand sessions, Approach( SMEs,basedon objectives basedlearning interdisciplinary, objectives interdisciplinary, AAGenEd BAdegreeswith competenciesand sessions, themecorganized BAdegreeswith themecorganized concentrations objectives Activitiesare interdisciplinary, concentrations Activitiesare BAdegreeswith optional themecorganized Singledegreewith optional Singledegreewith concentrations Selfpaced Activitiesare concentrations Selfpaced concentrations optional Assessmentsare Singledegreewith Assessmentsare Selfpaced required concentrations PhasedIntroduction: required PhasedIntroduction: Assessmentsare Phase1:traditional Phase1:traditional required PhasedIntroduction: courses,credits, courses,credits, Phase1:traditional gradespluspassport gradespluspassport courses,credits, (badges) (badges) gradespluspassport Phase2:fullCBE+ Phase2:fullCBE+ (badges) passport,selfcpaced passport,selfcpaced Phase2:fullCBE+ Assessment( Direct Cantestoutof Objectiveand Somestandard passport,selfcpaced Phasedapproach, Assessment( Direct Cantestoutof Objectiveand Somestandard Phasedapproach, Assessment individual Performance tests,papers, withbadges Assessment individual Performance tests,papers, withbadges lessons assessments portfolio, lessons assessments portfolio, Eachcoursehasa observation Eachcoursehasa observation startandanend (clinical) startandanend (clinical) assessment assessment 8
CBE Model Examples CfA NAU WGU UW(Flex Purdue Tuition(Model( All$you$can$ learn 6mos. $1,250 All$you$can$ learn6mos. $2,500 6mos.$3,000 All$you$can$ learn3mos. $2,250 Orsingle competency setin3mos. 1set=$900 Phase1$sameas traditional Phase2$TBD Credit(Transfer( Yesfortransfer intoba With anassociates degreeearned or60college credits(from accredited institution) Yes$ through transcript evaluation AcceptCLEP, DSST,ACE Yes$through transcriptevaluation (exceptatgraduate level) Awarded through Assessments (UWcredits transfermore easily)noce orgrador Tech/Voc NotspecifiedforCBE program Challenges to Competency-Based Programs Challenges (according to Fatma Mili, Purdue): Upstream: A new model requires new tools. TuiGon, financial aid, academic transcripts, accreditagon, and faculty loading and compensagon are all calculated and organized around credit hours. Moving toward competencies requires full support and cooperagon from all units involved. Downstream: A new currency requires new exchange banks. New competency- based degrees will live in a predominantly credit- based world. A "currency conversion" system between competencies and credit hours will have to be created. Inward: New language requires new thinking. To achieve the full benefits of a competency- based system, a cultural transformagon must take place by both faculty and students. (O Malley, 2014) 9
References Reference List Book, P. A. (2014). All hands on deck: ten lessons from early adopters of competency- based educa7on. Informally published manuscript, Western Interstate Commission for Higher EducaGon, Boulder, CO,. Retrieved from hep://wcet.wiche.edu/wcet/docs/summit/allhandsondeck- Final.pdf Fain, P. (2014, October 28). Big ten and the next big thing. Inside Higher Ed. Fain, P. (2014, October 28). Big ten and the next big thing. Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved from heps://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/10/28/competency- based- educagon- arrives- three- major- public- insgtugons#.voph5lw2cpa.mailto Fain, P. (2015, February 17). Moving ahead with competency. Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved from heps://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/02/17/two- year- colleges- washington- state- expand- competency- based- project- business- degree#.voo7fmpu6xw.mailto Northern Arizona University. (2015). Frequently asked ques7ons. Retrieved February 26, 2015, from hep://pl.nau.edu/howitworks.aspx O Malley, J. (2014, October 10). Roadblocks to creagng a competency- based program. [Web log comment]. Retrieved from heps://tech.purdue.edu/blog/roadblocks- creagng- competency- based- program Western Governors University. (2015). hep://www.wgu.edu/?utm_source=1335 10