COMPETENCY-BASED
ONLINE MODELS:
WASHINGTON COLLEGES’ BIG
BREAKTHROUGH FOR STUDENT SUCCESS
Presentation for AACC Annual Convention
April 19, 2015
•
Dr. Richard Cummins  President, Columbia Basin College
•
Connie Broughton  Project Director, Competency-Based Education,
Washington State Board of Community & Technical Colleges
•
Tom Nielsen  Vice President of Instruction, Bellevue College
•
Jody Laflen  Dean of the Institute for Business & Information
Technology, Bellevue College
OUR STORY
WHAT IS COMPETENCY BASED EDUCATION (CBE)?

Measure student learning rather than time

Harness the power of technology for teaching
and learning.

Computer-mediated instruction gives the ability
to individualize learning for each student
because each student learns at a different pace
and comes to the content knowing different
things; this is a fundamental requirement of
competency-based education.
Source: Dr. Robert Mendenhall
President, Western Governors University
5
WHAT IS COMPETENCY BASED EDUCATION (CBE)?

Fundamentally change the faculty role

When faculty serve as lecturers, holding scheduled
classes for a prescribed number of weeks, the instruction
takes place at the lecturers' pace. For most students, this
will be the wrong pace. Some will need to go more
slowly; others will be able to move much faster.
Competency-based learning shifts the role of the faculty
from that of "a sage on the stage" to a "guide on the
side." Faculty members work with students, guiding
learning, answering questions, leading discussions, and
helping students synthesize and apply knowledge.
Source: Dr. Robert Mendenhall
President, Western Governors University
6
WHAT IS COMPETENCY BASED EDUCATION (CBE)?

Define competencies and develop valid, reliable
assessments

The fundamental premise of competency-based
education is that we define what students should
know and be able to do, and they graduate when
they have demonstrated their competency. This
means that we have to define the competencies
very clearly. Getting industry input is essential to
make sure that we've identified relevant
competencies.
Once the competencies are established, we need
experts in assessment to ensure that we're
measuring the right things.
Source: Dr. Robert Mendenhall
President, Western Governors University
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THOMAS FRIEDMAN: THE NEW YORK TIMES

Institutions must move from a model of “time
served” to a model of “stuff learned.”

Because increasingly, the world does not care what
you know. You can Google everything. The world
only cares, and will only pay for, what you can do
with what you know. And, therefore, it will not pay
for a C+ in chemistry, just because your college
considers that a passing grade and is willing to give
you a diploma that says so.

We’re moving to a more competency-based world
where there will be less interest in how you acquired
the competency and more demand to prove that
you mastered the competency.
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THE CBO STUDENT AUDIENCE –
EDUCATION FOR A NEW ERA
Post-Recession Jobs Require a College Degree or Retraining

Post-recession, those with a four-year degree or higher were
much less affected by the recession

Those with only a high school diploma or less lost a high
number of jobs, with little recovery

Newly-created jobs require skill sets for which experienced
workers need retraining
9
TRADITIONAL HIGHER ED
BUSINESS MODEL IS BREAKING
$65,000
$60,000
$55,000
$50,000
$45,000
$40,000
$35,000
$30,000
$25,000
$20,000
$15,000
$10,000
$5,000
Private Four-Year
Public Four-Year
Public Two-Year
2025-26
2023-24
2021-22
2019-20
2017-18
2015-16
2013-14
2011-12
2009-10
2007-08
2005-06
2003-04
2001-02
1999-00
1997-98
1995-96
1993-94
1991-92
1989-90
1987-88
1985-86
1983-84
1981-82
1979-80
$0
DISRUPTION = AFFORDABILITY, ACCESSIBILITY
Yesterday
• GM
• Dept. Stores
• Digital Eqpt.
• Delta
• JP Morgan
• Xerox
• IBM
• Cullinet
• AT&T
• Sony DiskMan
• Columbia Basin
College
Today
• Toyota
• Wal-Mart
• Dell
• Southwest Airlines
• Fidelity
• Canon
• Microsoft
• Oracle
• Cingular
• Apple iPod
• Straighterline.com
HIGHER ED DECENTRALIZATION IS JUST
BEGINNING
THE DISRUPTIVE INNOVATION
• Some
key features:
•Disaggregates teaching, mentoring,
and grading
•Costs ~$3,000 every six months,
which includes textbooks
•Uses a year-round schedule for
maximum student use
•No expensive capital costs, sports or
extra-curricular activities
FIXED TIME, VARIABLE LEARNING
Deliver content to students
Testing & assessment
Receive results
Progress to next grade, subject,
or body of material
COMPETENCY-BASED LEARNING
Deliver content to students
Testing & assessment
Progress to next grade, subject,
or body of material
Receive real-time
interactive feedback
Innovation is the way to reach current “non-consumers” to get closer to that 67%
16
Laitinen, A. (2012). Cracking the credit hour. New America Foundation. Retrieved from newamerica.net.
CASE STUDIES IN PILOT CBE PROGRAMS
17
THE BEGINNING:
BUSINESS SOFTWARE SPECIALIST CERTIFICATE AT BELLEVUE COLLEGE

The pilot was the Business Software Specialist 32- credit
certificate. It was selected for competency-based
online format because it:

Was an existing, high-demand certificate

Allowed innovation and experimentation with a new
modality

Was a certificate that appealed to a broad audience

The certificate included industry (MOS) certification

Had the ability to offer a high-tech, high-touch program

IT-related credential (required by WGU consortium)

Already offered online

32 credits, 8 courses, add 5 industry certifications

Faculty interest and commitment

Expanded access to students who needed it
18
COMPETENCY-BASED ONLINE LEARNING AND PREPARATION
 WGU
workshops
 Statewide
workgroup
 One-to-one
 Faculty
with SMEs
interest and commitment
https://www.etouches.com/ehome/120977
19
INFRASTRUCTURE
Work WITH constraints of time-based systems:

Faculty

Navigator

Schedule

Curriculum

Students

Credentials/transcription
20
DEVELOPING COURSES

Faculty engagement

Administrative support

Expert assistance: industry and academia

Identified certificate and course outcomes

Included objective and project-based assessments

Included industry certifications
21
BUSINESS SOFTWARE
SPECIALIST CERTIFICATE

32 credits

8 courses


1 Orientation

5 Office

2 Web
5 Microsoft Office
certifications
22
ROLE OF THE NAVIGATOR

The Navigator is the first point of contact for the
student

The Navigator supports student throughout the
process

The Navigator is a key “high touch” feature to
the program

The Navigator reviews the SmarterMeasure
college and online readiness assessment tool
results with the student to determine if CBE is the
right fit for the student or if another program is a
better fit

The student is admitted in the program and
followed up bi-weekly or more, if necessary, by
the Navigator, as well as the instructor
23
PRE-ASSESSING STUDENT READINESS

Students should be pre-assessed prior to enrolling in any CBE
program to ensure they have the essential skills to be successful
in a self-paced, online learning environment.

Once a Program Navigator has determined that a student is
ready for CBE learning, the student should be assessed on course
and program outcomes to determine areas where coursework
would be redundant and to properly place the student at the
appropriate level in the program.

Program Navigators and faculty can implement weekly progress
reports to ensure students are on track and making progress.
Pacing charts can also be provided to students to provide
realistic expectations as to the time they will need to complete
coursework.
24
RECRUITING CBE PROGRAMS
These techniques have been successful at recruiting 100+
students per quarter at Bellevue College since the 2014 pilot
of the CBE Business Software Specialist certificate and have
thus been effective for a more internal audience.

Note placed in the College Catalog/College Website under all
CBE classes to distinguish them from more traditional online or onground course offerings. Provide a link to your CBE page and
make sure that the Program Navigator’s contact information is
there.

Posters and cards placed around campus

Information sessions to all campus advisors—workforce,
international programs, etc.

Panel cards placed in external workforce agencies

Emailed students, made announcements in classes, created a
website that is updated regularly
25
THE CBE COURSE

Pre-test to assess prior learning

Practice, practice, practice

Post-test to 80%+

Comprehensive assessment

Certification assessment (if applicable)

Grades – A, B, F
Competency or No Competency
26
WERE RETENTION AND GRADES BETTER WITH CBE?
AT BELLEVUE COLLEGE, THE ANSWER WAS… YES BY 7% AFTER
INITIAL PILOT
86% of the CBO students passed with competency (108/126)
77% of the CBO students passed MOS certification (70/91)
of those competent
14% of the CBO students did not complete the course (18/126)
other colleges in the Gates grant had 20-25% non-completers
79% of the regular students passed with competency (149/189)
7% of the regular students passed but did not achieve competency (13/189)
13% of the regular students did not complete the course (15/189)
0% of the regular students took MOS certification as a required part of their
course (189/189)
27
ONGOING ADJUSTMENTS FOR CBE
SUCCESS

Depending on the student population involved, be prepared to make
adjustments as a CBE program rolls out. At Bellevue College, some
adjustments included:
1.
Self-pacing Chart
2.
Progress Report
3.
Final Practice Exam, 80%+ for a B grade competency
Self-Pacing Chart
Students who enter the course with the level of experience listed below, can expect to
complete the course in about the estimated guideline times listed.
Application
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced
Outlook
7-9 weeks
4-6 weeks
3-4 weeks
PowerPoint
7-9 weeks
4-6 weeks
3-4 weeks
Word
8-10 weeks
4-6 weeks
3-4 weeks
Excel
8-10 weeks
5-7 weeks
4-5 weeks
Access
8-10 weeks
5-7 weeks
4-5 weeks
Web Essentials
8-10 weeks
5-7 weeks
4-5 weeks
Webpage Authoring
9-11 weeks
6-8 weeks
5-6 weeks
28
GETTING FACULTY ON BOARD FOR TRAINING,
DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION

Faculty buy-in: Presenting existing models and success
stories to demonstrate the benefits of CBE can help to
bring innovative faculty on board and reduce
resistance.

Training should be provided for all interested faculty, as
conversion from traditional online/on-ground course
presentation to CBE is significant.

A small pilot may be the most effective way to start.
Bellevue College and Columbia Basin College piloted
with IT-based programs who had easier outcomes to
modify and more tech-savvy faculty for buy-in.
29
OVERALL CBE PROGRAM OUTCOMES AND
ASSESSMENTS

Identify Program/Credential Outcomes

If you don’t assess it, you can’t claim it as an
outcome

Identify and eliminate redundancies so that
each class has unique assessment criteria
meeting the program outcomes
30
THE STATEWIDE PILOT
31
COMPETENCY-BASED
PROGRAM PILOT

Students must demonstrate mastery of explicit
competencies to receive credit

Students receive constant support based on their
individual learning needs

Learning, not time, is the determining factor
(Adapted from Christensen Institute)
THE GOAL
A Business Transfer Degree
 Competency
 Completely
 Openly
online
licensed
 Six-month
 Full
based
term with multiple start dates
time equivalent tuition ($2667 plus fees)
 Students
work at their own pace,
completing as many credits as they are
able during each term
 Available
at March 2015
PILOT COLLEGES
 Columbia
 Bellevue
College
 Centralia
 Everett
Basin College—lead
College
Community College
 Olympic
College
 Pierce
College Ft. Steilacoom
 Pierce
College Puyallup
 Tacoma
Community College
TARGET POPULATION

Reduced population growth in 15-19 year olds in the next 10 years

Increased growth in 20-44 year olds

Almost 1 million Washingtonians have some college, no degree
(SBCTC Legislative Presentation, Jan. 2014)
https://app.leg.wa.gov/CMD/Handler.ashx?MethodName=getdocument
content&documentId=EDi-X3rydFI&att=false
THE ELEMENTS FOR SUCCESS

Students with some college or work experience

Advisors and support at each college

Completion coaches


Hired by Columbia Basin for the pilot consortium
Disciplinary faculty who teach and assess

Hired by Columbia Basin for the pilot consortium
WHY PILOT AS A SYSTEM?

Share initial development costs

Share staffing to support students who work at
their own pace

Students belong to the college where they enroll

All faculty for the pilot will be hired at Columbia
Basin College
SYSTEM ASSETS

Strong transfer agreements

Shared course system (WAOL)

Shared learning management system (Canvas)

Common elearning tools

Western eTutoring Consortium

AskWA
FIRST FACULTY COHORT

Four full-time faculty
 English
 Math
 Accounting
 Economics
and Business Law
FIRST FACULTY COHORT
 Six
adjunct faculty
 Sociology
 Political
Science
 Geology
 Biology
 Public
 Art
Speaking
COLUMBIA BASIN COLLEGE CBE BUSINESS PROGRAM: STUDENT
PROCESS ENROLLED STUDENT – BUSINESS TRANSFER MAJOR
CHALLENGES WITH IMPLEMENTATION

Accreditation – Does your institution need to go
through an approval process with your accrediting
agency?

Faculty and staff – How will CBE delivery affect faculty
contracts and hiring processes? Faculty and support
staff involved in the development of a CBE program
need time, resources and training to develop effective
coursework and support tools.

Buy-in – A comprehensive CBE program involves all
aspects of the traditional college operation. How will
CBE delivery affect program, registration, advising,
financial aid, and business office?
RESOURCES ON CBE

Bloom, Benjamin (1984). “The 2 Sigma Problem:
The Search for Methods of Group Instruction as
Effective as One-to-One Tutoring.” Educational
Researcher, 13:6 (4-16)

CBEN
http://www.cbenetwork.org/competencybased-education/

CAEL http://www.cael.org/what-wedo/competency-based-education

U of Wisconsin: http://flex.wisconsin.edu/
FIND OUT MORE

Blog: http://cbewa.org

Listserv: http://lists.ctc.edu/mailman/listinfo/cbe
QUESTIONS?
CONTACT INFORMATION
Rich Cummins, President
Columbia Basin College
rcummins@columbiabasin.edu
Connie Broughton, Project Director Competency-Based Education
Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges
cbroughton@sbctc.edu http://cbewa.org
Tom Nielsen, Vice President of Instruction
Bellevue College
tom.nielsen@bellevuecollege.edu
Jody Laflen, Dean of the Institute for Business and Information Technology
Bellevue College
Jody.laflen@bellevuecollege.edu
http://www.bellevuecollege.edu/ibit/degrees/certificate/cbo/
46