1. Competency-Based Education at Sinclair College
Christi Amato, Program Manager
October 24, 2017

2. Program Strategy & Planning Getting Started with CBE

3. Changing Paradigms in Higher Education

4. What Does it all Mean? What’s the Difference, Anyway?
Traditional Model
CBE
CURRICULUM
Arranged by topics, organized to accommodate weeks in a semester
Bundled into units for acceleration
INSTRUCTION
Instruction is standardized
Instruction is customized
ADVANCEMENT
Students advance based on time
Students advance based on mastery
PACING
Students move at pre-determined, standardized pace. Even if they do not master course content, the classroom moves on.
Students progress at different paces in different areas of the course.
TIME
Fixed entry and exit into courses; standardized weekly assignments and deadlines
Entry and exit are flexible, and learning time is flexible and designed to support students' needs
SUPPORT
Student initiates support
Faculty and academic coach proactively collaborate to customize the classroom experience

5. What Type of CBE? Course Based vs. Direct Assessment Direct assessment
Students demonstrate achievement of competencies without regard to courses or credit hours. They demonstrate mastery of individual competencies through summative assessments such as exams and portfolios.
Course (Credit)-based
Students demonstrate mastery of skills and knowledge at a course or module-level. Competencies, defined at the program level, are translated into topics that are packaged into the courses or modules.

6. Implementation Models
Example
Areas of focus
CBE University
Western Governors University
Education IT
Business
Healthcare
CBE Campus
Southern New Hampshire University
College for America
AA Liberal Arts
Statewide Degree
Washington State Community and Technical College system
AS Business Administration
Central Oversight
Sinclair Community College
IT (networking and software)
Department
Austin Community College
Broward College
IT (programming and user support)
Faculty
Bellevue College
Office applications

7. External Forces Federal Current CBE climate State ODHE
Steering Committee work
Institutional
Policies
Faculty structure and governance
Institutional reaction to change initiatives

8. Financial Models What are the costs?
Can the CBE development model be integrated into existing program development processes?
Tuition models

9. Sinclair’s CBE Model

10. Sinclair’s CBE Programs
40+ courses
Continuous enrollment and completion
Specialized, data-driven academic and career coaching, from admissions to graduation
CBE programs deployed first use of faculty-coach partnership in the classroom, for teaching and student support

11. Sinclair’s CBE Outcomes
1,000 students educated, 2,000+ CBE courses completed successfully
68% of CBE students are adult learners
Course success rates average 15% higher in CBE sections
Average time to completion in courses is 35% faster than a traditional semester
Students credential at twice the rate of non-CBE students in the same programs
CBE students are ten times as likely to take an internship—and internship-to-hire rates are 90%

12. Remember… CBE is not a course development project.
It’s building a “college within a college.”
If you’ve seen one CBE model…you’ve seen one CBE model.
CBE development typically requires executive sponsorship, a champion, and faculty buy-in.

13. CBE Curriculum & Course Development

14. About the eLearning Division
300+ online and CBE courses by end of 2017 including 36 degree programs/certificates and 7 CBE programs
40% of college’s enrollment in
Support the design, development, delivery, and maintenance of Online/CBE/Hybrid modalities
Use D2L Learning Management System (eLearn)

15. About eCourse Design & Development
Develop new and major revision eCourses per year
6 month development cycles (Jan-June; June-Nov)
Templates for consistency, scalability, and student success
Media development to support courses
Quality Matters (QM™) internal review on all courses
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0)
Provide on-going support for eCourses
Develop online faculty trainings
Staff of 11
Manager; 4 Instructional Designers; 4 Instructional Technologists (application developers and graphic designers); 2 Web Assistants
3Ds – Design, Develop, and Deliver (required, facilitated)
Teaching Online Training
eLearn Training
Teaching CBE Training

16. CBE Faculty Support
CBE Faculty Community (includes self-paced Teaching CBE course)
CBE program meetings (during and after development)
CBE Drop-ins (for all programs)
eLearning Division Intranet
One-on-one meetings with faculty

17. Sinclair’s eCourse Model
We use a Master Course/Repository model for development – BRIEF OVERVIEW HERE

18. CBE Course Development

19. Know Your Vocabulary Vocabulary Meaning Objective
specific and measurable knowledge, skills, attributes, and habits learners are expected to achieve and demonstrate (statement)
Outcome
demonstration of the attainment of the expected knowledge, skills, attributes, and habits (action)
Competency
demonstrated mastery of a particular set of knowledge and/or skills (action)

20. Know Your Delivery Modalities
Modality
Course Materials and Activities
Course Assessments
Educational Technologies
Delivery Timeframe
Classroom
Delivered in a face-to-face setting (often referred to as “traditional”)
Delivered in a face-to-face setting or proctored
May or may not utilize institution’s learning management system (LMS) and other educational technologies
Follows institutional terms (typically 16, 12, 8 week)
Online
Delivered via LMS
Delivered via LMS and/or proctored
May or may not utilize other educational technologies
Hybrid
Mixed delivery (classroom and online) – split based on institutional policies (e.g., 60/40)
Mixed – via LMS, face-to-face, proctored
CBE
Primarily delivered via LMS; may or may not include classroom components
Flexible based on institutional policies (e.g. may allow rolling starts and accelerated completion)

21. Consider these Questions
Regardless of delivery modality, course development starts with the Objectives: what do my students need to know?
What do my students need to learn that knowledge and skills? (materials, activities, additional resources)
What supports will my students need as they learn?
How will my students’ learning be assessed? (getting away from “one and done”)
How will my students and I know they have met those objectives? What defines “Mastery?”
(For Sinclair – 80%+)

22. Options for Course Structure
Unit – group layout of content to meet objectives
BIS course groups three word processing topics into a “Word” unit
MAN course groups several related topics into a “Planning” unit
Topic – singular layout of content to meet objectives
CIS course contains 11 individual topics
UAS course contains 14 individual topics

23. CBE for Your Institution: Questions to Ask
Curriculum & Course Development
What is your institution’s vocabulary?
How will you manage course structure?
Can you deploy a Master Course model?
How will you manage course assessments?
What constitute “Mastery?”
Training & Support
How will you support faculty in the CBE modality?
Curriculum & Course Development
What is your institution’s vocabulary (objectives/outcomes/competencies)?
How will you manage course structure (topic vs. unit based)?
Can you deploy a Master Course model?
How will you manage course assessments (Pre/Post; summative; retakes)?
What constitute “Mastery?”
Training & Support
How will you support faculty in the CBE modality?

24. Delivering CBE Programs

25. Key Considerations
Hybrid vs. Online Flexible Delivery: Planning and Implementation Incorporation of PLA

26. Hybrid vs. Online
Will your programs have in-person requirements of any kind?
Labs
Assessments
How will you communicate in-person program requirements to students?

27. Flexible Delivery
Flexible delivery refers to both flex-pacing in the classroom, and a more open entry/open exit system of finishing classes
Bring stakeholders to the conversation very early
Registrar, Bursar, IT, Financial Aid, Learning Management experts, Institutional Research
Look for examples of “alternative” or flex scheduling already in place for help and cues
Remember transcripts!

28. Sinclair’s Delivery Model

29. PLA and Delivery
What are PLA options already at your institution, and how can you leverage them?
Consider PLA inside and outside the CBE classroom

30. Supporting Students in CBE Programs

31. Coaching Model Foundation
Case Management
ADMIT
ENROLL
RETAIN
COMPLETE
Intake Assistance
Caseload Assignment to a Coach via SSP
Routine Outreach
Referral/
Resource
Liaison
Enrollment Steps
How to Succeed
Goal Setting
MAP
Monitor MAP
Check-ins
Career Services
Transfer Connections

32. CBE Student Support Model:
The Big Picture

33. CBE Student Support Model: Learner Phases

34. CBE Orientation Delivered online in Sinclair’s LMS
Non-credit requirement for enrollment in CBE courses
Purpose: Screening and preparation
What is CBE?
Are CBE courses right for me?
Expectations in CBE courses
Intake info and remedial pathways

35. CBE Student Intake
Collected from Orientation via a series of self-assessments and questionnaires
Retrieved automatically upon completion and sent to CBE Academic Coach
Stored in Caseload Management System, Student Success Plan (SSP)

36. Progress Monitoring and Interventions

37. Integrated Career Development
Career Level Pre-Assessment
Phase I: Getting to Know Yourself
Phase II: Exploring and Choosing Options
Phase III: Gaining Knowledge and Experience
Phase IV: Putting it all Together
Action Plan: Goals
Examine career(s) and Assess Right Fit
Identify career readiness gaps
Job search or Transfer preparation
Placement, Promotion, or Transfer
Action Plan: Tools
Focus 2®
Career Coach®
Career Info (OCIS)®
Interview Tips
Resume Tips
Linkedin®
Salary info
InterviewStream®
Business Etiquette
Cover Letter Tips
Transferology®
Top 20 Job Sites
JobLink®
Department Resources
NSEC, Advising/Coaching, Student and Community Engagement
Advising/Coaching, Student and Community Engagement, Faculty experts
Advising/Coaching, Student and Community Engagement, Faculty experts, Internship office
Transfer Advisors, Advising/Coaching, Student and Community Engagement

38. Takeaways for CBE Student Support
CBE students require support beyond traditional Academic Advising
Who will own the task of supporting students in CBE programs?
How will you orient new students to the CBE classroom?
Will you enforce screening requirements for admission to CBE courses?
What is your strategy for monitoring progress and motivating CBE students?
How will you deal with disengaged or underperforming students in flex-paced courses?
Will you offer career and transfer preparation for CBE students?
What current college processes need to be modified to accommodate the CBE student?

39. Growth and Sustainability

40. General Thoughts on Growth & Sustainability
Create a mechanism to capture lessons learned from the beginning
Track program outcomes
As each component of the CBE classroom and first program is built, consider how it might apply to other programs
Create opportunities for program review with faculty, staff and students
Know who your students are, and check assumptions
Training for faculty and staff

41. Christi Amato Christina.amato@Sinclair.edu
Thank you!
Christi Amato