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Competency Based Education What, How & Who

A primer for institutions interested in starting a CBE program

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INTRODUCTIONS

» Rebecca Jones, Senior Education Consultant, specializing in Higher Ed Rebecca Jones Consulting

» Dr. Wendi Prater, Assoc. Vice ChancellorLone Star College Online

» Dr. Mac Adkins, CEO/FounderSmarterServices

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POLL»What is your school’s position in regards to CBE?

– We are currently providing a CBE program.– We are in the planning stages of providing a CBE

program.– We are considering offering a CBE program.– What does CBE stand for?

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Rebecca JonesSenior Education Consultant

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An introduction to Competency Based Education (CBE)

Traditional Education Competency Based Education

Measures time Measures Learning

Credits – measures learning through time spent in course

Competency Units – measuring competency through valid assessment

Focused of the journey Focused on the destination

Prescribed days/times/weeks/semesters to learn content

Flexible learning, learning at the student’s pace

Traditional faculty model Disaggregated faculty model

Advisor role is to schedule courses and advise on classes

High-touch advisor/mentor role that is the student’s key point person through entire experience

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What Need Does It Fill?Makes higher education more affordable and more attainable to more people.

• Adult workers who entered the workforce but did not go to a traditional college• Military• Adults with families and full time jobs that want to further their education, but don’t feel like they

have the time

Caters to the millions of “non-traditional” students:

Shortens time to degree and cost of degree substantially

Provides industry input to develop competencies-competent graduates mean competent employees

Pace program when “life happens”

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POLL

If you are developing a CBE program, are you developing it

1. As a standalone program

2. Offering 2 versions

3. I’m not sure

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Is CBE right for everyone? It depends…

– Does or will your college offer just competency-based or traditional as well?

• Having both options allows you to make the determination with the student

– Will you have a tool to make this determination? – Will you have different admissions criteria based on the

modality?• If you only offer CBE as an option:

– How will you be able to tell that the student is CBE able?– What is your target market?– What will your criteria be to enter into such a program?

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The Ideal CBE Student

Self motivatedComputer literateStrong support systemStructured and organizedThe ability to know when to ask for helpSome experience to understand value of CBE right away

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Implementing a CBE program at your institution:»Marketing»Technology:

– Student Information System (SIS)– Learning Management System (LMS)– Customer Relationship System (CRM)

»Accreditation »Applying for DOE Approval for Title IV»Change Management/Communication within your

Institution

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Dr. Wendi PraterLone Star College Online

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Lone Star College Online Competency Based Education Online Teaching Certification Program

» Goal - Enhance quality online and hybrid courses at Lone Star College

» Lone Star College employs over 1,200 faculty members.» Six (6) campuses in Houston TX, LSC-Jakarta (Jakarta,

Indonesia) and multiple centers in the Houston area.» Self-paced fully online CBE online teaching certification

program.» Annual faculty committee review of the program.» Course Mentors and Faculty Access Competency Mastery.» Faculty Advisor Mentors.» Five (5) program  tracks

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CIVITAS LEARNING, INC. -- CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

Online Teaching Certification

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CIVITAS LEARNING, INC. -- CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

Online Teaching Certification

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Dr. Mac AdkinsSmarterServices

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ToolsTools Needed for a CBE Program

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Using the Wrong Tool for the Job

“As a community, the products used to manage our institutions and their teaching and learning processes are all deeply rooted in a credit hour–based, term-based, and course-based educational delivery model.”

Mark Leuba, Educause Review, October, 2015

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You Are Not Alone Out There

» Technical Interoperability Pilot (TIP) project– Competency-Based Education Network (CBEN)– IMS Global Learning Consortium– Roadmap for effective IT support for CBE

» The project's origin dates to the EDUCAUSE Annual Conference in October 2014 and a meeting between the C-BEN Business Process and Systems Committee (BPS) and a group of five product vendors to discuss the lack of systems support for CBE.

» The BPS committee focused on operationalizing CBE best practices in member institutions, at scale, and software systems are a critical component of that work.

» Collaborative project of 35 institutions and 14 vendors.

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Systems that Need Adapting for CBE Programs

» Learning Management Systems» Customer Relationship Management Systems » Student Information Systems» Financial Aid Delivery Systems» Curriculum Management» Student Success (Advising, Tutoring, etc.)» Assessment Tools» Teaching & Learning Tools» Instructional Materials» ePortfolio Tools» Data Repositories

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TIP Survey on Degree of Customization Needed

The survey queried the degree of customization for each application category on a

scale ranging from little or no customization (level 1) to highly customized (level 5). 

Teaching & Learning Tools 3.50Instructional Materials 3.45Assessment Tools 3.44

Student Relationship Management 3.33Data Repository 3.32Student Success 3.17Learning Mangement System 3.09Curriculum Management 3.05ePortfolio 2.94Financial Aid 2.92Student Information System 2.87

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Policy and Procedure Updates

» Tuition Rates - In some CBE programs students pay for a block of time, not per credit hour.

» Teaching Load – How does mentoring/assessing a CBE student factor in to teaching load?

» Student Fees - Applicable or not» Admission’s Criteria?» What else?

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Learner Readiness

» Relevant prior experience » Self regulation» Availability of time» Reflective attributes» Technology skills» Motivation» Support» CBE program knowledge» Educational background» Financial assistance» Action attributes» Academic skills» Blog Series-

http://www.smarterservices.com/blog/program-knowledge-key-for-cbe/

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CBE Learner Readiness Indicator

» 200+ Item Pool» Authored by eight Subject Matter Experts» Variable Duration» Powered by the SmarterMeasure™ Assessment Engine

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Two Closing Thoughts in Support of CBE

» “D” is for “Done.”» Origin of the Carnegie Unit

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Resources

» http://er.educause.edu/articles/2015/10/competency-based-education-technology-challenges-and-opportunities

» http://www.wpr.org/uw-flex-program-sees-800-students-26-graduates-2-5-years-after-launch

» SmarterServices CBE BLOG series - http://www.smarterservices.com/blog/program-knowledge-key-for-cbe/

» http://RebeccaJonesConsulting.com

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Q&A – Contact

» Rebecca Jones – rajones@rebeccajonesconsulting.com– https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-jones-54478633

» Dr. Wendi Prater – Wendi.C.Prater@lonestar.edu– https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendi-prater-79764810

» Dr. Mac Adkins – mac@smarterservices.com– https://www.linkedin.com/in/macadkins

» Next Steps