What is Competency-Based Education?

CBE has recently gained popularity, but it isn’t a new concept. It was first introduced in the 1960s, when American schools became concerned that students weren’t being taught the life skills needed after graduation. Institutions around the world are still looking for ways to improve measuring student success and make learning a more affordable experience – so how can CBE help?

Many traditional learning models use a different formula to measure success. The time spent in the classroom is fixed (such as a semester) and a student’s mastery of a skill or subject is variable (i.e. based on an end-of-term assessment).

The opposite is true in a competency-based learning model. Students are able to progress based on their student’s “mastery” of skills and/or learning outcomes. As a result, the pace of learning is much more individualized. It can even be dramatically accelerated.

Traditional Learning Model vs. Competency-based Learning Model

	Traditional	Competency-based
	Time is fixed	Time is variable
	Some concepts may be mastered	All concepts must be mastered
	Delivery of content/material is often generalized	Delivery of content/material can be more personalized
	Pace is fixed	Pace is variable
	Some students succeed	More students are setup to succeed

Create More Opportunities for your Students

Competency-based education offers numerous advantages for both students and institutions.

• Institutions are able to offer non-traditional students (such as adult learners) the chance to learn flexibly, affordably and at their own pace.
• Students are more marketable as mastered competencies are highly relevant to employers and directly transferable to the workplace.
• Faculty become advisors and mentors and remain integral to a student’s persistence and successful demonstration of mastery.

CBE does not need to replace traditional learning models. Institutions can consider implementing where it makes sense for them, as an alternative or as an addition to their current teaching model. David Schejbal who is the Dean at University of Wisconsin-Extension shares this perspective, “We’re not intending to use CBE and the UW Flexible Option to replace traditional forms of learning. We see this as a way to significantly grow the pie.”

Written by

Colleen Gauthier

Colleen is a Solutions Marketing Manager at D2L, focused on higher education. She has 15 years of experience in the education sector, with roles in higher education publishing, corporate e-learning, enrollment services, government training, and educational technology. When she’s not working, she can be found playing baseball, obsessively listening to podcasts, and discovering new ways to embarrass her two children.