What’s New in Competency-Based Higher Education?

Changing Faculty Roles

• In The Coaching Transformation, Christine Seifert and Richard Chapman discuss the changing roles of higher education faculty in competency-based systems—from professors to coaches—and how it has yielded astounding results in student learning, retention and graduation.
• In Competency-based education gets traction, Ellie Ashford explores faculty buy-in, meeting employer and local needs, and redefining the faculty role.

New Initiatives & Progress

• Profit and Competency explores Kaplan University’s new initiative offering personalized “competency reports” to its 45,000 students, marking a significant move toward competency education. Education Dive provided a follow-up brief and insights.
• Colleges in Washington state are collaborating to test a business transfer degree program that gives students access and flexibility along competency-based pathways. Read more.
• Michael Horn wrote Match Beyond: No Excuses Meets Disruption in Higher Education, which discusses the disruptive upstarts powered by online learning that are transforming higher education.
• Western Governors University received two awards from the US Distance Learning Association for excellence in distance learning at its 2015 National Conference.

Policy Movement

• The American Enterprise Institute published Rethinking the regulatory environment of competency-based education, written by Aaron Lacey and Christopher Murray, which provides regulatory frameworks to manage competency-based programming at the state, accreditor, and federal levels.
• An article based on an Education Commission of the States report calls for state officials to allow for more flexible funding that focuses on meeting the needs of students.
• iNACOL offers a weekly policy blog, which shares policy advancements in online, blended, and competency-based education.

For more news, information, and resources in competency-based higher education, follow us on twitter: @CompetencyWorks.