| Notes |
Competency-Based Education (CBE) is a learning-centered model that gives students a more direct, flexible pathway to completing a college degree, allowing them to attain mastery at their own pace. By clearly defining measurable learning objectives, or competencies, and specific ways to demonstrate mastery of those objectives, students are provided with new ways to achieve results. A focus on learning outcomes and competency mastery can be beneficial for any educational program, and programs that are not dependent on “seat time” scheduling are particularly helpful for students who have prior learning, need to stop and start as they progress, or who need more or less time than average to achieve learning outcomes.
UW-Extension logo
At the University of Wisconsin Extension (UW-Extension), the mission is to “provide statewide access to university resources and research so the people of Wisconsin can learn, grow and succeed at all stages of life.”1 In order to achieve its mission, UW-Extension has implemented the Wisconsin Idea, which is broadening the “boundary of the university to the boundary of the state”1 in some revolutionary new ways. A goal of these continuing education outreach programs is to give non-traditional students access to higher education opportunities. David Schejbal, Continuing Education, Outreach & E-Learning Dean at UW-Extension, has a very entrepreneurial mindset and “his vision for learning includes inventing ways to reach beyond traditional higher education to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse student spectrum”. The CBE programs at UW-Extension were created including a Flexible Option Program and the University Learning Store. UW Flexible Option self-paced, CBE programs allow students to advance at their own pace while the University Learning Store offers competency-based credentials in non-degree programs using authentic assessments that can be completed in days or weeks rather than years but at the same time these credentials are stackable.
UW-Extension’s Flexible Option program was designed from the ground up to be a competency-based program with using open technology. This gave program architects some additional flexibility to choose technologies that would support the vision of the program. Andrea Deau, Information Technology Director at UW-Extension, says creating the platform through IMS Global Learning Consortium’s open interoperability standards and ongoing collaboration with IMS members was important to be able to award the credentials and make the program affordable, portable and discoverable. Through membership in IMS Global Learning Consortium, a nonprofit collaborative focused on improving the interoperability of the edtech ecosystem to improve user experiences and learning, Deau has been able to work with like-minded organizations and individuals in workgroups and innovative leadership networks to exchange ideas and learn best practices.
IMS Global has been very active in competency-based education in many areas. IMS Global’s upcoming standards, Extended Transcript, and Open Badges version 2.0, have played important parts in the development of both programs. UW-Extension has been a leader in the competency-based education work at IMS. |