Competency-based education is a system where students advance based on demonstrating mastery of concepts and skills rather than time spent in class. Key features include developing competencies, formative and summative assessments, flexible instruction and support. Competency-based programs are growing in popularity, with up to 600 colleges working on such programs. They allow students to progress at their own pace by demonstrating competencies through assessments rather than seat time.

1. Competency-Based Education
Andrew Lutz
alutz4@jccc.edu

2. What is Competency-Based Education?
Competency-based education is a system where students advance to higher
levels of learning when they demonstrate mastery of concepts and skills
regardless of time, place or pace.
Key features:
-Development of competencies
-Formative and summative assessments
-Instruction and student support roles
-Program flexibility
Why do it?

3. Sample Competency
Illustrate the installation, configuration and troubleshooting of current
operating systems (OS).
A. Explain the purpose of an operating system.
B. Perform an operating system installation.
C. Configure network settings to provide access to remote resources.
D. Identify common operating system installations problems and
describe appropriate troubleshooting steps to resolve them.

4. Facts about CBE
• Up to 600 colleges are working on a competency-based education
program
• Only 28% of undergraduate students in the US are under the age of
21 and attend four-year, non-profit schools
• In 2017, 91% of provosts at public colleges and universities said they
favored awarding credit through CBE
• 73% of WGU grads say their university experience was worth the cost
compared with 38% nationally

5. Who does it?
• Western Governors University
• The University of Michigan
• The University of Wisconsin
• Broward College
• Austin Community College
• Johnson County Community College

6. How we do it
• Exclusively online courses
• CompTIA A+ Courses
• CCENT Courses
• Talk with all students enrolling in the program
• Design courses around competencies and objectives
• Objective and performance assessments
• Two 8 week semesters
• Works with our current time based environment
• Allows students to finish one course early and begin the other immediately

7. How to get started
• Find a partner and do your research
• Identify a college that does CBE
• Find a specific contact
• Attain institutional buy-in
• Pick ideal courses to pilot
• Courses that have willing faculty members
• Courses that can be implemented online
• Develop your course around competencies and objectives
• Make your course is modular around your competencies
• Ensure that pathways exist for students to accelerate based on their
progression

8. Resources
• https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-
learning/article/2017/01/30/provosts-no-longer-fear-impact-
competency-based-education
• https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/10/18/competency-
based-educations-business-model-offers-promise-report-finds
• https://www.ed.gov/oii-news/competency-based-learning-or-
personalized-learning
• http://www.cbenetwork.org/competency-based-education/