What’s New in Competency-Based Higher Education?

Upcoming Event

On Thursday, June 25, iNACOL will host a Special Edition Webinar featuring Susan Patrick, President and CEO of iNACOL, and Chris Sturgis, Principal of MetisNet, as they discuss the recent CompetencyWorks report titled, Implementing Competency Education in K-12 Systems: Insights from Local Leaders.

Register for the upcoming webinar here.

In case you missed iNACOL’s June 10 webinar, where Chris Sturgis and Susan Patrick discuss the Maximizing Competency Education and Blended Learning report, you can view the archived webinar here.

Higher Ed by Design

• The college experience has been roughly the same for the last 100 years. Jessica Hullinger proposes that higher education must undergo dramatic changes, including: a focus on skills, not semesters; a hybrid degree; a new major focusing on critical thinking, communication, and problem solving skills; and the death of the lecture.
• Associate Professor Dr. Justin Thomas discusses the perceived relationship between GPA and future opportunities, and advocates for mastery-based reform to promote education for the sake of learning, rather than as a means to a salary.
• Paul LeBlanc, president of Southern New Hampshire University and senior advisor to the U.S. Department of Education’s under secretary of education Ted Mitchell, discusses lessons learned in competency-based education in an interview with Jeffrey R. Young.

In the News

• The Council of Regional Accrediting Commissions (C-RAC) released a common framework for assessing and approving competency-based education programs. The framework includes a definition, structure, and the approval of the competency-based program by the accrediting agency.
• Anthem is offering 55,000 employees a no-cost associate or bachelor’s degree at College for America, providing opportunities for education, development, and career advancements through competency-based pathways.
• Salt Lake Community College is experimenting with a competency-based education model at its School of Applied Technology, focusing on the unique needs of adult learners and the underserved, saving time and money while helping students.

For more news, information, and resources in competency-based higher education, follow us on twitter (@CompetencyWorks) or sign up for our monthly newsletter from our homepage.