As our students become more diverse in age, experience, and goals, we in the higher education community must take notice so that we can offer more diverse ways to serve and support them. Competency-based education (CBE) is one increasingly popular and promising delivery model for serving a wide range of students. These programs allow students to progress in their education based on mastery of skills and competencies, rather than simply hours spent in a classroom. Some competency-based programs have been shown to improve degree completion, reduce costs to students, and better align learning outcomes with the marketplace and society.
In July 2014, the Department of Education announced the Competency-Based Education experiment, which allowed institutions to access a new disbursement method for federal student aid in self-paced CBE programs. In September of this year, we issued extensive guidance for institutions participating in the experiment. Today, I am excited to announce an expansion of the Department’s Competency-Based Education experiment.
Read more at the U.S. Education Department's Blog: http://blog.ed.gov/2015/11/the-competency-based-education-experiment-expanded-to-include-more-flexibility-for-colleges-and-students/