EXPLORING COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATION Polk State’s Journey into the Unknown

NSF ATE Funding Implement an OEEE program Build a collaborative relationship between the secondary system and the college Providing pathways to baccalaureate degrees. Professional development Outreach initiatives

What is CBE Characteristics Progress is based on demonstrated proficiency/or mastery of specific skills regardless of time, place, or pace of learning Assessment of skills measures mastery in increments of learning Time is the variable and student competency mastery is the focus, rather than a fixed-time model where students achieve varying results 1 Personalized learning

Differs from Traditional Models Fundamental Differences Shifting from synchronous to asynchronous deliver Pay-as-you-go rather than billing per semester Mastery (which can be represented in grades or P/F) focus rather than credits/grades and GPA focused Less instructional/lecture/professor role and more customized student guidance/professional facilitator role Financial Aid disbursement, calculated on expectations of student rather than fixed college calendar. Calculating Standards of Academic Progress (SAP) Tutoring and student support mechanisms

Differs from Traditional Models Fundamental Differences Registration, grading, dropping, withdrawing, prerequisites, repeating policies change from class- based to student-based Development of Academic calendar – date-driven rather than term driven Full-time/Part-time statuses – backward determination rather than forward determination Policies on what constitutes a failure, progress toward degree completion Billing and Tuition structures -payment and due dates Faculty load, contracts, duties and required skills Classroom scheduling, room and facility usage LOOKING AT THESE DIFFERENCES _ LET’S TALK ABOUT THE CHALLENGES TO MAKE IT WORK

Challenges Technology integration and customization Course and curriculum redesign (standards-based – determining when a skill is mastered) Operational plan – processes and training Policy adjustment Faculty development Recruitment and enrollment planning Reporting issues (State, Fin Aid, IPEDS,) Veteran’s have limits in their living expense allocations due to the online element of CBE Transfer challenges – Courses are modularized and may not easily translate to a three credit course elsewhere

Credit Hours Conflict Credit hour is federally defined as: “Except as provided in 34 CFR 668.8(k) and (l), a credit hour is an amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement that is an institutionally established equivalency that reasonably approximates not less than—(1) One hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of out of class student work each week for approximately fifteen weeks for one semester or trimester hour of credit, or ten to twelve weeks for one quarter hour of credit, or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time; or (2) At least an equivalent amount of work as required in paragraph (1) of this definition for other academic activities as established by the institution including laboratory work, internships, practica, studio work, and other academic work leading to the award of credit hours.”. US Dept of Education

Credit Hours Conflict and Financial Aid reasonably approximates not less than—(1) One hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of out of class student work each week for approximately fifteen weeks for one semester The implications of the credit hour in competency based education is the sticking point in federal language allowing institutions to receive financial aid for their students. Problems arise in the conflict between this time-based definition and flexibly-paced learning processes found in competency based education which is skill-based.

For the OEEE implementation, we converted each three-credit course to three one-credit courses. Therefore, we are still using the standard credit hour unit in this program. According to the Higher Education Act of the Code of Federal Regulations a credit hour is defined as follows: §600.2 Definitions.§600.2 Definitions Credit hour: Except as provided in 34 CFR 668.8(k) and (l), a credit hour is an amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement that is an institutionally established equivalency that reasonably approximates not less than— (1) One hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of out of class student work each week for approximately fifteen weeks for one semester or trimester hour of credit, or ten to twelve weeks for one quarter hour of credit, or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time; or (2) At least an equivalent amount of work as required in paragraph (1) of this definition for other academic activities as established by the institution including laboratory work, internships, practica, studio work, and other academic work leading to the award of credit hours. Prior to modularization of the courses into one-credit units, Polk State had three years to evaluate the content of the traditional 3-credit courses and associated labs; and determine that it met the criteria established by federal regulation § Therefore dividing the content of the course into three units at an expected completion rate of five weeks each consists of an accurate measure of a Carnegie unit for the 1-credit hour class. The ET program is an Open Entry Early Exit (OEEE) program meaning that students may start at any time but there is an average expected timeframe to complete the work as compared to a standard time/semester-based class of equivalent credit hours and content. The early exit portion of the CBE model for the ET program is an example of “equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time” See (1) in the §600.2 Definitions. The student is allowed to accelerate his own learning and exit early by meeting the competencies. To meet the competencies, it is expected that the average student will invest the same amount of time as he would in a traditional time-based class with the same course/content/credit hour.

Benefits to Students Classes never canceled All program courses offered at all times Open-Entry: Students can begin the program at any time instead of waiting for the beginning of the fall or the spring semester. Early-Exit: Self-paced and Accelerated learning Flexibility for all students (Traditional, Non-traditional, Full-Time, Part-Time, Working Learners) Unrestricted enrollment (open entry/early exit)

Benefits to Students Allows the student to work at his own pace with guidance Requires students to pass competencies before moving forward, giving the stronger background in subsequent course skills Students with prior knowledge can complete competencies they know at a faster pace allowing for earlier program completion Provides time, space, and pace flexibility Model requires more personalized attention, contributing to student success Integrated credit for prior learning (either through assessment, military or corporate training alignment Skills when exiting a program match the employers needs more specifically

References 1.The American Council on Education and Blackboard; Clarifying Competency Based Education Terms; 2.Webinar, Integrating Competency Based Education (CBE) on your Campus 3.J. Michael Palardy and James E. Eisele; The Clearing House; Vol. 46, No. 9 (May, 1972), pp McLaughlin, Milbrey W.; Shepard, Lorrie A.; Improving Education through Standards-Based Reform; 1995, ERIC