Controversy of Competency-Based Learning

What is the right way to gauge the feasibility of competency-based learning while maintaining educational standards? And how does all this occur in a quickly changing education environment that craves innovation to meet up the demand of today’s educational market?

Some important Driving Factors for New Competency-Based Model

It’s no surprise that popularity in competency-based educational models is increasing, mainly among higher education policymakers. It is also showing the attention of an increasing number of institutions. As the cost of post secondary education increases, institutions and policy makers are looking for new ways to break down the obstacles of attaining a quality education. Those applicants fortunate enough to break through the barriers of cost and time have come out the other side only to get their skills aren’t in demand because of a dreary job market. Adults already in the workforce with some institute but no degree are more sparking the need to accelerate the time it takes to do a degree.

This has institutions, policymakers and employers asking how to best get ready students for today’s workplace while ensuring they are really achieving intended outcomes. One answer to these problems might be to raise direct assessment courses to the same level as traditional higher courses.

The Federal meaning of direct assessment is:

An instructional plan that, in lieu of clock hours or credit hours as a gauge of student learning, use direct assessment of student learning, or find the direct assessment of student learning by others. The evaluation must be reliable with the accreditation of the program or institution utilizing the results of the assessment.

In other way, student learning is attached more directly to what they require to know when they graduate and seek employment.

Competency-based programs are classically offered online and are based on the shown competencies gained from a variety of sources.

Undergoing Massive Change

Currently the direct assessment model got the blessing of the U.S. Department of Education(DOE) for universities and colleges to supply their students with the chance to gain clock hours through direct assessment. The DOE confirmed that institutions “may use direct assessment of student learning, or find the direct assessment by others of student learning.” These evaluation tools include “projects, papers, presentations, examinations, portfolios and performances.” As a result, degrees will be based on mastery of the distinct competencies, and may or may not be converted into the amount of credits obtained, depending on the classification of the program and its approval by the Department of Education.

Since the Department of Education approved this program, scores of universities are gearing up to provide new competency-based degrees. There’s a catch: the university or college must meet the Department of Education plan on what a direct assessment program should appear and how the program should work. But there’s also motivation: Once a college or university has a completely accredited approved program (by both the school’s accreditor and the DOE) the students attending the program can get federal financial aid.

There are also some challenges. While direct assessment is the most wide form of competency-based education, it seems nothing like established college classes. Direct assessment programs feature no traditional courses, deadlines, grades or clock hour requirements. Maybe the method’s most revolutionary – and controversial – position is a changed position for faculty. With no lectures or guided way through course material, quite literally tutors don’t teach.

Given these extensive changes, institutions are worried whether the DOE will support this approach that many see as basically different from what has been flourishing for so long. In addition, changing the gauge of student learning from clock hour to mastery of an assessment is no simple task for an institution. That’s because the clock-hour model touches all from institutional funding, student financial aid and faculty workload. To make this kind of change needs the institution to modify policies, federal funding and state, and student aid rules.

Testing the Waters

Some higher institutions, still, are taking the plunge. A subsidiary of Southern New Hampshire University, College for America, and Capella University were the first to provide direct assessment programs. College of American got approval for a non-credit hour associate’s degree and was the initial to design assessments not grounded in course corresponding.

Proceeding with Caution

The Department of Education is also forging ahead. They have framed an approval procedure for direct assessment programs and the linked grant funding. The DOE plans to provide institutions the chance to experiment with competency-based learning by extending waivers for convinced financial-aid rules as part of its “experimental sites” program. This has motivated several colleges and universities to submit applications to join in these experimental programs.

The biggest challenge for competency-based learning program surrounds the transfer ability of credits earned. For now, colleges are willing to translate direct assessment degrees into course or credits equivalences. Thus, the DOE needs to come forward rapidly and normalize what competency-based learning should look like and implement that standard in colleges and universities. Until the Department enforces and administers these standards, regulators may be not capable to uphold any kind of standardization associated to direct assessment, creating uncertainty about the sustainability and the viability of competency-based learning programs. Explore some more education news and tips on Expertsminds.