Competency-Based Education
Results of the AACRAO May 2016 60-Second Survey
Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1
What is Competency-Based Education? ......................................................................................... 1
Key Findings .................................................................................................................................... 1
Results ............................................................................................................................................. 1
Appendix A: AACRAO May 2016 60-Second Survey ....................................................................... 5
Appendix B: Respondent Count by Country, State/Province ......................................................... 6
Appendix C: Respondent Count by Institution Type, Size and Control .......................................... 8
Introduction
AACRAO and NASPA are engaged in a project funded by Lumina Foundation on student
records. As one part of that project, we seek to understand the landscape of competencybased education (CBE) and its relationship to credit hours (or Carnegie units). This has a direct
impact on how student learning and achievement is represented on a student's record. This
month’s 60-Second survey was designed to help us gain information on the frequency of CBE,
generally, and how the paradigm of credit hours/Carnegie units limits or does not limit
innovation in this area (Appendix A).
There were 554 viable responses representing different institutions and/or different practices
within an institution varying by college/department. Participants are from several countries and
a variety of institutional types (Appendix B and C).
What is Competency-Based Education?
For the purpose of this survey, we used the following definition of CBE. Competency-based
education (CBE) is a flexible way for students to get credit for what they know, build on their
knowledge and skills by learning more at their own pace, and earn high quality degrees,
certificates, and other credentials that help them in their lives and careers. Students in these
programs show what they know and how well they know it through multiple ways of evaluating
learning. Source: http://www.cbenetwork.org/competency-based-education/
Key Findings




A quarter offer CBE instruction.
Of the three-quarters who do not offer CBE, 10% are planning to offer CBE in the next
12 months.
Of those who do offer CBE, 9 out of 10 offer it at the undergraduate level for credit.
Most who offer CBE convert CBE to credit hours for at least one purpose and the most
reported reason is “institutional choice”.
Results
The data in this report may provide different insights if it is further disaggregated by additional
institutional characteristics. Please contact Wendy Kilgore ([email protected]) if you have
interest in seeing the data disaggregated differently than how is has been provided in this
report.
AACRAO May 2016 60-Second Survey Results
1
Table 1: CBE Instruction at Institution (n=554)
Response
Percentage
Count
Yes
25%
140
No
75%
414
Table 2: Student Populations Served by CBE (n=150)
Response
Percentage
Undergraduate for credit
90%
Graduate for credit
23%
Undergraduate noncredit
12%
Graduate noncredit
3%
Count
135
34
16
5
Table 3: Percentage of Instruction Offered as CBE
< 10%
Undergraduate
for credit
Graduate for
credit
Undergraduate
noncredit
Graduate
noncredit
10 to 24%
25 to 49%
50 to 74%
75 to 99%
100%
Count
108 (82%)
9 (7%)
8 (6%)
3 (2%)
1 (1%)
2 (2%)
131
22 (71%)
2 (7%)
2 (7%)
1 (3%)
3 (10%)
1 (3%)
31
13 (77%)
2 (12%)
0
0
0
2 (12%)
17
4 (80%)
0
0
0
0
1 (20%)
5
Table 4: Percentage Who Convert CBE to Credit Hours for Any Purpose
Response
Percentage
Count
Yes
86%
113
No
14%
19
It appears that in addition to an institutional preference to do so, external pressures also
account for why institutions convert CBE to credit hours (Table 5). Institutions in the United
States who want their CBE programs to eligible for financial aid must obtain approval from their
regional accreditor and may need to file with the Department of Education1.
2
1
https://www.hlcommission.org/Monitoring/competency-based-education-programs.html.
AACRAO May 2016 60-Second Survey Results
Table 5: Reason(s) for Converting CBE to Credit Hours (all that apply) (n=108)
Response
Percentage
Count
Institutional preference
68%
73
Accreditation requirements
32%
34
Federal and/or state financial aid rules
32%
34
Other, please specify...
22%
24
Licensure requirements/needs
19%
20
SIS limitations
15%
16
Employer requests/needs
12%
13
Graduate/professional school requests/needs
12%
13
Several themes emerged from the comments provided by respondents (Table 6). Many of the
comments provided by respondents relate to the need or desire to convert CBE into credits for
the purpose of transfer credit. Others related to counting credits toward an overall certificate
or degree requirements. A few comments related to the need to convert CBE to credits for the
purpose of tuition calculation.
Table 6: Other Reasons for Converting CBE to Credit Hours
Response
To provide credits toward the minimum credits required for a degree.
To fulfill requirements for graduation.
Portfolio is reviewed to determine which courses should be granted credit based on the
content of the courses. The student is awarded the credit for those courses.
Our CBE process allows students to demonstrate that they have met the learning
outcomes of a particular course and earn the course credit when they successfully
complete a portfolio or credit by exam.
Transfer.
Experiential Learning converts portfolios into credit hours.
TOC Evaluation.
Transferability.
Tuition/fees.
Departmentally based credit by examination.
Courses are offered that students register and pay for and complete.
Undergraduate students wanting to qualify for Latin Honors.
Maintain consistent measure for degree completion.
We can transcript and there is a better chance at transfer.
Ease of scheduling.
Student demand/preference.
Documentation of learning in internships.
AACRAO May 2016 60-Second Survey Results
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So that it can apply to degree or certificate requirements.
Offered in Credit Hours (not all CBE is direct assessment or noncredit hour based).
Students show course learning outcomes through competency tests.
To ensure ease of transfer for students who may wish to leave the program.
FTE Reporting Guidelines.
Questions regarding this or other AACRAO research should be directed to Wendy Kilgore,
AACRAO Director of Research, at [email protected].
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AACRAO May 2016 60-Second Survey Results
Appendix A: AACRAO May 2016 60-Second Survey
AACRAO 60-Second Survey: Competency Based Education
What is competency based education?
Competency-based education (CBE) is a flexible way for students to get credit for what they know, build on their
knowledge and skills by learning more at their own pace, and earn high quality degrees, certificates, and other
credentials that help them in their lives and careers. Students in these programs show what they know and how
well they know it through multiple ways of evaluating learning. Source: http://www.cbenetwork.org/competencybased-education/
Does your institution currently offer any instruction that may fall under that definition of CBE above?
Yes
No
What student population(s) is (are) served by CBE? Check all that apply
Undergraduate for credit
Graduate for credit
Undergraduate noncredit
Graduate noncredit
About what percentage of your instruction is offered as CBE?
Less than 10% 10 to 24% 25 to 49%
Undergraduate for credit
Graduate for credit
Undergraduate noncredit
Graduate noncredit
50 to 74%
75 to 99%
100%
Are you planning to start CBE instructional offerings in the next 12 months?
Yes
No
Is this instruction converted into credit hours for any purpose?
Yes
No
What are some of the reasons that your CBE instruction is converted into credit hours (check all that apply)?
Institutional preference
Accreditation requirements
Employer requests/needs
Graduate/professional school requests/needs
Licensure requirements/needs
SIS limitations
Federal and/or state financial aid rules
Other, please specify... ______________________
Are you planning to expand your CBE instructional offerings in the next 12 months?
Yes
No
AACRAO May 2016 60-Second Survey Results
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Appendix B: Respondent Count by Country, State/Province
Armenia
Bahamas
Bolivia
Canada
AB
BC
MB
NS
QC
Costa Rica
Cote d'Ivoire
Egypt
Greece
Grenada
Italy
Lebanon
Mexico
Oman
Puerto Rico
Qatar
United Arab Emirates
United States
AK
AL
AR
AZ
CA
CO
CT
DC
DE
FL
GA
HI
IA
ID
IL
IN
Count
1
1
1
14
3
7
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
4
1
1
521
3
4
3
9
45
16
5
3
2
13
13
1
9
3
27
14
6
AACRAO May 2016 60-Second Survey Results
KS
KY
LA
MA
MD
ME
MI
MN
MO
MS
MT
NC
ND
NE
NH
NJ
NM
NV
NY
OH
OK
OR
PA
RI
SC
SD
TN
TX
UT
VA
VT
WA
WI
WV
Grand Total
12
7
5
22
17
3
20
16
11
2
3
13
2
3
1
6
4
4
31
26
9
9
20
2
7
1
12
32
5
12
5
10
15
4
554
7
AACRAO May 2016 60-Second Survey Results
Appendix C: Respondent Count by Institution Type, Size and Control
Lower Division Only
Under 1,000
Private, not-for-profit
Private, proprietary
Public
1,000 - 2,499
Public
2,500 - 4,999
Public
5,000 - 9,999
Private, not-for-profit
Public
10,000 - 19,999
Public
20,000+
Public
Undergraduate
Under 1,000
Private, not-for-profit
Private, proprietary
Public
1,000 - 2,499
Private, not-for-profit
Public
2,500 - 4,999
Private, not-for-profit
Private, proprietary
Public
5,000 - 9,999
Public
10,000 - 19,999
Public
Undergraduate, Graduate and/or Professional
Under 1,000
Private, not-for-profit
Private, proprietary
Public
Count
87
17
4
3
10
14
14
20
20
21
1
20
12
12
3
3
90
32
26
4
2
43
36
7
11
3
2
6
3
3
1
1
355
42
34
5
3
AACRAO May 2016 60-Second Survey Results
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1,000 - 2,499
Private, not-for-profit
Private, proprietary
Public
2,500 - 4,999
Private, not-for-profit
Public
5,000 - 9,999
Private, not-for-profit
Private, proprietary
Public
10,000 - 19,999
Private, not-for-profit
Private, proprietary
Public
20,000+
Private, not-for-profit
Private, proprietary
Public
Graduate and/or Professional
Under 1,000
Private, not-for-profit
Private, proprietary
1,000 - 2,499
Private, not-for-profit
5,000 - 9,999
Private, proprietary
Unk
Private, not-for-profit
Other
Under 1,000
Public
5,000 - 9,999
Private, not-for-profit
Grand Total
83
70
4
9
62
45
17
66
23
2
41
51
17
2
32
51
8
3
40
20
17
16
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
554
AACRAO May 2016 60-Second Survey Results
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