Define, Design, Deliver! Competency-Based Education at Excelsior College Presented by: Robin Berenson and Scott Dolan to:

Define, Design, Deliver!Competency-Based Education at Excelsior College

Presented by: Robin Berenson and Scott Dolan to:

Context for CBE

Value and importance of a college degree

Cost of college degree

Concerns about quality of student learning

Changing demographics of student population

Value of College Degree

Occupations with job growth = college degree“interaction work”

Does current system have capacity to meet demand?

“Recasting…the labor force to align with future demand will require deep and wide innovations to improve the capacity, reach, and delivery of educational and company training systems. This will require new ways of teaching, collaboration with industry to craft curricula to employer needs, and new ways of building schools and training teachers.” (p. 10).

--McKinsey Report (2012)The World at Work

Cost of College

Education costs have increased by over 2-1/2 times the inflation rate since 1982

Source: Forbes 2012. Colleges Costs Out of Control

Quality of Student Learning

Followed 2,300 students at 24 universities over four years, and found that more than one-third of students failed to improve critical thinking skills.

Only one-thirdof business leaders agree that higher education institutions in this country are graduating students with the skills and competencies that their businesses need.

Changing Demographics

• The National Center for Education Statistics projects that by 2020, 42 percent of all college students will be 25 years of age or older.

• 37 million Americans with some college but no degree– The “new” normal

The importance of a college degree

Source: NY Times. 2014. II College Worth it?

CBE Opportunities and Risks

Area of Concern

Opportunity with CBE Things to consider

Student Learning

Transparent about and focused on learning outcomes

Inclusive of external stakeholders to ensure outcomes are meaningful/relevant

An intense focus on application and demonstration

• A culture of “earning over learning”?

•Mastery of what?

• How do we ensure competencies are portable?

•How well can we measure competencies?

Student Demographics

Flexible and personalized pathways catered to needs of student

• How do pathways compare to one another?

• Do all pathways enable deeper learning?

Economic Concerns

Assessment of learning instead of time spent

Recognition that learning can and does occur outside of the classroom

• Do we overemphasize speed?

• What about “opportunity-to-learn” standard?

The CBE Landscape

Source: http://www.acenet.edu/the-presidency/columns-and-features/Pages/What-Competency-Based-Education-Looks-Like.aspx

The Excelsior Model

Video

The Excelsior Academic Model

40+ YEARS

Evaluation and Aggregation of Prior

Learning

Portfolio-based PLA

Examinations

Workforce/Military Training

Multiple Pathways to Degree Completion

(Mix-and-Match)

Online Courses

Independent Study

Credit Aggregation

Externally Validated Program Competencies

Develop competencies

Develop and Review Courses &

Assessments

Program Review

Integrated Capstone Experiences

Foundation

Practice

Application

The Excelsior Academic Model

The Capstone Model

Lessons Learned

Area Questions we received Mitigation

Internal Communications

What is CBE and how is this model different than our current business model?

• A lot of walking and talking to stakeholders and college leadership

•Involve right stakeholders

•Ensure alignment with mission

•Highlight key differentiators• Externally-validated competencies• Enhanced capstone experiences• Mix-and-matched pathways

Program Operationalization

How do we implement a cutting-edge innovative model?

• Be adaptable and flexible (things can change)

•Understand effect on all business processes

•Hire someone with PM experience

•Leverage expertise of those before you

•Establish rigorous program review t

• Innovate with a vision of future iterations of model

EMAIL: ROBIN BERENSON, ASSOCIATE DEAN: [email protected] DOLAN, DIRECTOR OF ASSESSMENT: [email protected]

THANK YOU