In recent years, the college completion agenda has dominated the public discourse surrounding higher education. Policymakers, lawmakers, institutions, and other interested parties have shifted their focus to developing and implementing flexible and innovative forms of learning.
One approach--competency-based education--allows students to progress as they demonstrate mastery of academic content, shifting away from awarding credit based on seat time.
This form of learning expands opportunities for earned and awarded credit--combining online and blended learning, dual enrollment and early college high schools, project-based and community-based learning, and credit recovery, among others things. But developing and implementing competency-based learning programs pose some challenges on the institutional level.
At this year’s AACRAO Annual Meeting, Janis L.P. Ford, Director of Student Success at the University of Wisconsin-Extension, and Diane Treis Rusk, Director of Undergraduate Education at the University of Wisconsin System Administration, explored the implications of competency-based assessment practices for credit award, transcription, and transfer. Through the lens of the UW Flexible Option – a portfolio of degrees and certificate programs offered in a self-paced, competency-based format, they outlined various formats and methods used to conduct competency-based direct assessments, delved into issues related to transcription and transferability, and offered recommendations for success in each area.
Beyond that, Ford and Rusk also discussed, in detail, the importance of establishing prior learning assessment policies and practices that maintain quality while allowing students to progress with credit for learning achieved outside of the traditional academic environment. Because, as they reminded attendees, the end goal is advancing student learning and success in any possible way.