As part of Northern Arizona University's (NAU) Personalized Learning┬" initiative, students who choose to enroll in the school's competency-based program can earn an official transcript detailing their proficiencies in required areas of study for a bachelor's degree. The transcript bears little resemblance to the traditional variety; no specific courses or grades are displayed. Rather, NAU's new format reads more like a resume, with a list of accomplishments and demonstrated abilities. For example, one transcript heading is: Apply ethical theories to education┬" by explaining the ethical and moral arguments for desegregation and for technology in education.┬" Credit is awarded based on direct assessment of the listed degree elements. According to the NAU Personalized Learning Information Packet, students must score at or above 86% in order to be declared ˜competent' in topical areas. Beyond this base credit, students can go even further and earn Mastery┬" in desired topics.
The tuition of the program also strays from tradition. Rather than enrolling in a semester or trimester system, or just by class, the student pays $2,500 for a six-month subscription “ there are no other costs associated with the program. Additionally, there is no limit on how many competencies a student may earn in this subscription period, assuming they meet or exceed the 86% test score thresholds. However, online ˜social spaces,' where faculty and other students can come for assistance on material, have been instituted for those having trouble.
The concept [of competency-based learning] is one which I champion “ not having people sit through classes they have already mastered in terms of content advances the educational career faster, and saves the student money,┬" said AACRAO member Kent Seaver, the Director of Learning Resources at the North Lake Community College.
The focus is now on having students demonstrate an ability to apply their knowledge in practical ways,┬" said Linda Smith, AACRAO's Coordinator of Online Courses.
While the idea shows a lot of promise, its execution thus far is not without fault.
Smith, who has been working to develop AACRAO professional competencies, knows the difficulty of properly gauging a student's knowledge and ability. On competencies, she says the general definition [should] encompass a complex set of elements that must be addressed in the definition of any specific area. Clarification is needed to distinguish the difference between competency and knowledge, skill, function, attitude and value.┬"
Despite his enthusiasm for the undertaking and the concept in general (especially the 86% test score threshold), Seaver said, I think a better idea of what is competency needs to be addressed.┬"
To increase the creditability and transferability of these credentials, a conventional transcript will still be maintained and issued by NAU. Articulation between the documents is made possible by the work of the faculty who devised the pedagogy for each of the three programs “ liberal arts, small business administration, and computer information technology. Each department examined the existing credit-hour-based courses and determined their ultimate learning outcomes and desired skill results. Inside Higher Ed reports that 100 students are currently in the process for registering for the program, and that the university hopes to reach 500 enrolled students by the end of next year. AACRAO will follow the progress of this and other competency-based programs as new developments unfold.