Competency-based education (CBE) offers a flexible structure designed to give students the skills, knowledge and experience they need to secure a career in an increasingly competitive labour market.
Students achieve this by learning at their own pace – not the institution’s – and are continuously assessed based on demonstrations of their evolving skills. Learners achieve a successful outcome based on the competencies they can show they have mastered through certified evidence and, in many cases, showcased in an ePortfolio.
Crucially, instead of focusing on a traditional degree’s highly structured curriculum, grades and time spent in lecture halls, competency-based learning offers a more flexible, agile approach tailored to the student’s abilities and aptitudes. Most importantly, competency-based education programs ensure a potential employer can see precisely what demonstrable skills and competencies the student has mastered, which in turn greatly improves their employment prospects.
Using competency-based learning, higher education can better support students build real-world skills and confidence in their own time.
Why is it important?
Advocates state that competency-based education offers more equitable outcomes for students from diverse backgrounds. It gives them the space and time to learn via a schedule that is designed specifically for them. For instance, some students learn quickly – or already have related skill sets in place – and can progress at speed through a competency-based curriculum. However, for those who need more time, CBE can accommodate them, too, adapting to suit their pacing and needs – as well as their own unique strengths and weaknesses.
This focus on flexibility and accessibility has far-reaching and highly positive consequences. Students, for example, may have family responsibilities, existing work commitments or face geographical challenges. This could mean they can’t attend scheduled lectures every time, be on campus whenever they are required to be, or learn at a pace demanded by educators.
Instead, competence assessment programmes have been developed to suit the student through a program of personalised learning – instead of the individual being ‘shoe-horned’ into a one-size-fits-all curriculum. Advocates also highlight how competency-based learning and assessment helps to level the playing field, removing perceived advantages associated with social class, income levels, language and culture.
“Competency-based education is an equity strategy. By focusing on what students know and can do, rather than how long they sit in a seat or where they come from, CBE has the potential to disrupt the predictability of achievement based on race, income, or zip code.”
• Chris Sturgis, Equity and Competency Education: Realizing the Potential, Overcoming the Obstacles, 2016
How does CBE differ from traditional higher education?
Critics will often cite the rigidity of the traditional degree course – and its insistence that students memorise and comprehend, not learn, understand and demonstrate. It’s arguably an approach that feels increasingly dated in a world where the demand for evolving skill sets and actual evidence of competency is becoming so important (see ‘How do employers view CBE?’ below).
There are several key but crucial differences when comparing competency-based education vs outcome-based education. Based on insights from the Volta Learning Group, these are:
Using competency-based learning, higher education institutions can move away from rigid, time-based models and instead focus on mastery, flexibility and personalised learning journeys that align more closely with students’ career goals.
Is the approach credible?
Competency-based education colleges and universities have already made major inroads into the US:
Perhaps inevitably, North America currently leads the way because of early adoption and supportive policies, though Asia Pacific is predicted to experience the highest growth rate as it invests in workforce skills and learning technologies. Europe also has a considerable stake in CBE through its initiatives including the European Skills Agenda and the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System.
And the common reason cited for CBE’s continuing credibility – and subsequent growth – across the world? The approach is highly valued for its ability to deliver personalised learning coupled with workforce readiness.
What are the disadvantages of competency-based education?
While CBE is important for meeting the evolving needs of higher education and employers, it should not be seen as a panacea. There are several challenges to its successful implementation within an institution – here are the main three:
1. Adapting to the new
Both educators and students need to adapt for the adoption of competency-based learning. For educators, introducing a program requires them to move away from viewing education as a ‘set plan’ and instead, embrace individualised learning journeys for each student. For many students, CBE also represents a seismic shift to a whole new way of learning; one where they will have to master not only competencies, but manage their own time and commitment as CBE puts the responsibility of learning squarely on their shoulders.
2. Time/investment commitments
Introducing a competency-based education model into an institution is no mean feat. Often, it requires educators to completely reassess and reconfigure course materials, lesson structures and communications strategies – all while implementing a suitable CBE framework, which has its own challenges (see next section).
3. Lack of social learning
While it can be argued that social learning is possible in CBE – as students often work together on group projects – some competency-based education programs are predominantly or exclusively online plus learners complete their courses at their own pace. This means there are less opportunities for students to interact with and learn from their peers organically on the same subject as each could be at very different stages of their learning journey.
To combat this, the onus is on educators to ensure that social learning – and opportunities for inter-student socialisation – are fully integrated into the core design of their competency-based education curriculum.
What is the best approach?
There is no set, defined approach for competency-based learning in higher education. Rather, there are various framework templates available from trusted organisations to help educators design, implement and scale competency-based education programs. Organisations include the Competency-Based Education Network (C-Ben) in the US and public organisations such as Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education in the UK.
For instance, C-Ben offers the following eight elements in its guidance for creating a successful CBE framework:
“C-BEN’s aim … is to provide guidance to the field, allowing institutions to draw on these elements, principles and standards to inform the design, implementation or scaling of high-quality programs.”
• C-Ben, Quality Framework for Competency-Based Education Programs: A User’s Guide.
How is a program actually designed?
While sharing elements in common with traditional degrees – think assessments and credentials – CBE focuses on student-centred learning.
Traditional degrees are typically educator-centred with students taking on a passive role before completing assignments. CBE sees the student and the educator both take on an active role within the program, communicating and collaborating to achieve a successful outcome. However, both have different responsibilities within a CBE program:
“The faculty and students share ownership of the learning outcomes; the students assume responsibility for their learning, and the faculty assumes responsibility for providing appropriate resources for that learning.”
• Tina Goodyear, Competency-based Education and Assessment: The Excelsior Experience. Hudson Whitman/Excelsior College Press, 2016.
What are the learning approaches?
That’s the concept – but how does this unique relationship work in practice? Competency-based education can be incorporated using a range of strategies, sometimes within the same year dependent on the learning needs of individual students. Key approaches include:
How are competencies assessed?
Unlike standardised exams or traditional assessments – both highly generalised and group-focused – competency-based assessment focuses on the authentic assessment of each and every individual learner. This approach focuses on evaluating students’ progress based on real-world applications and skills. For example, competency-based medical education in nursing evaluates how well a student can apply their knowledge and skills within a clinical placement. This is a preferable – and arguably far safer in the long term – form of training to simply memorising a curriculum.
Crucially, students can only move forward once they have demonstrated they have mastered a competency, and not before. This may sound ‘harsh’ – but it’s the opposite: competency-based learning ensures that any areas where a student may be struggling are identified early. This means support can be provided to help them overcome roadblocks and move forward with genuine confidence coupled with concrete evidence of their mastery that the learner – and any future employer – can rely on.
Perhaps most importantly, learning can be tailored to individual student’s particular learning needs whether educational, personal or societal-related – and all at their own pace.
How do learning technologies support CBE?
By their very nature, successful competency-based education models require the close monitoring of student progress. This is combined with an ability to offer fast feedback and assessment as well as deliver diverse learning resources (think videos and readings) – and even entire learning pathways – personalised to an individual’s aptitudes and progress.
To implement such a flexible, accessible and adaptable approach, educators – and their students – use learning technologies. These include Learning Management Systems (LMS) that act as hubs for competency-based education curriculum delivery and management, allowing educators to support bespoke learning journeys.
Integrating with LMS are ePortfolios. These are student-focused, providing learners with a flexible, secure digital space for planning, recording and reflecting on learning experiences, as well as collecting, curating, sharing and showcasing evidence of their evolving and mastered capabilities. With the student’s permission, both educators and employers can access these ePortfolios to view details of the learner’s mastery – and their evidence and reflections from across their entire learning pathway.
How do ePortfolios support learning journeys?
ePortfolios support students and their educators at every step of the learning journey from induction to alumni – and into the world of work:
How do employers view CBE?
For most students, competency-based education is used for attaining demonstrable and evidenced skills, knowledge and competencies that can help secure a job on graduation. Importantly, research shows CBE is of significance importance to hiring professionals, too. For instance:
Perhaps this shouldn’t come as a surprise as employers are becoming frustrated with the output from traditional educators and institutions. According to an AAC&U survey, while 80% of employers say gaining a degree is worthwhile, around half said that graduates lack skills such as oral communications, critical thinking and complex problem-solving.
Crucially, when asked about which qualifications they prefer, 70% of employers citied they would prioritise a college graduate with a micro credential (a core component of CBE) for an entry-level job over a graduate without.
Competency-based education: Benefits for all
In a world where more and more employers are expecting graduates to show genuine and evidenced competencies and skill sets, competency-based education in nursing, healthcare and other disciplines offers an ideal pathway for preparing future-ready students to secure jobs and fit more easily into working life.
But the benefits aren’t solely employer-centric as CBE offers so much for learners themselves. It represents an opportunity for students to learn at their own pace; to take ownership of their higher education; to develop true confidence in vital skill sets and knowledge; and perhaps most importantly, give them a true sense of agency over their education – and beyond. Using competency-based learning, higher education can empower students to take control of their learning, build confidence in their abilities, and graduate with skills that are both relevant and demonstrable in the workplace.
Deeper engagement
For educators, the rewards are just as profound. CBE offers them a chance to throw off the strictures of traditional teaching, moving away from often one-way lectures and rigid teaching plans and, instead, engage with students on a more human, meaningful and equitable level. And, as established CBE educators already know, competency-based education is an approach that can greatly increase a learner’s prospects once they finally do step out outside of the institution – and take their first steps into the world of work.
And that, at the end of the day, is perhaps the most important goal of any educator who is passionate about giving their learners the best possible start in their working lives, especially in this era of increasing unpredictability.
Key takeaways: CBE benefits at a glance
About PebblePad
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It’s a vital tool for institutions committed to fostering holistic, well-prepared graduates who are ready to embrace the opportunities – and face the challenges – of our ever-changing world. Learn more here.