Learn from Our Experience
As the pioneering university that brought competency-based education to scale in higher ed, WGU has not only leveraged this innovation to better serve our own students—we've led the way in helping other institutions develop CBE programs of their own while working with policymakers to increase its acceptance and pave the way for continued growth.
New or future student?
This page is for institutions, academics, policymakers, and others interested in implementing competency-based programs. You'll be more interested in understanding what CBE will mean to you as a student at WGU.
Implementation
Developing a new competency-based program is highly iterative. At every step of the process before the program launch, all the stakeholders weigh in. Even after it’s up and running, a program and its courses can and often do evolve. New marketplace demands and student needs, as well as constantly improving learning resources, mean that program and course development is an ongoing process.
Journal of CBE
The Journal of Competency-Based Education is published by Western Governors University and John Wiley & Sons, Inc. It is a peer-reviewed, online journal intended for circulation in the higher education community.
With an emphasis on rapid review and dissemination, JCBE aims to advance knowledge through theoretical and empirical study across arenas of inquiry related to competency-based education and its evolution.
What is Competency-Based Education?
There is a growing interest in competency-based education (CBE) for higher education as one of the approaches to accelerate students' progress-to-degree while assuring the quality and validity of that degree. At this time, there is no single definition of exactly what constitutes competency-based education. There are definitions being used by the U.S. Department of Education for financial aid purposes and a variety of definitions used by regional accreditors. The media and philanthropic community have taken notice of this emerging trend.
With all this swirling information, we hope this website can be of value to those who want to understand how CBE can work and how they can get started on the development of CBE programs at their own institutions. Dive deeper into competency-based education—and perhaps learn to implement a CBE program of your own.
This information on CBE was funded in part by grants awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
General Tenets of CBE
CBE Can Take Different Forms
Students progress at their own pace by demonstrating competencies. However, the packaging and support for the students may differ.
Direct Assessment:
Students demonstrate achievement of competencies without regard to courses or credit hours. They show proof of mastery of the individual competencies through summative assessments such as exams, simulations/demonstrations, and portfolios.
Course/Module Based:
Students demonstrate mastery of skills and knowledge at a course or module level. Competencies, defined at the program level, are translated into topics that are packaged into the courses or modules.
Different Institutional Strategies:
The institutional context drives the strategy a particular institution will take. If designing from a blank slate, it is possible to develop an entirely CBE-based organization. Most colleges are not in that position, so there are some choices to make. In addition, many community colleges are part of a statewide system. Those systems can be useful vehicles for opening broad access to a CBE program and assuring program sustainability.
Different Institutional Model Examples
Probably the most difficult but the most promising approach for existing institutions is the integration of CBE into the existing college structure. There are two approaches that are emerging based on the organizational structure of the college and its culture.
In Washington State, policies were in place to allow a statewide coalition focused on CBE to develop. About a dozen community colleges have formed a coalition within their system structure so all can contribute to a CBE transferable degree program. Washington’s State Board for Community and Technical Colleges has taken the lead in opening up statewide online resources.
Learn More
The following pages dive into large topics of implementing CBE programs, the thought-leadership insights around CBE, and current events around the learning model.
Implementing CBE
How to develop programs, courses and assessments using competency-based design.
CBE in the News
A collection of news articles that speak to the growth of and trends in CBE, both within WGU and among other learning institutions.
FAQs on CBE
These web pages were created by the grantee (Western Governors University) and does not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Labor or the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Department of Labor makes no guarantees, warranties, or assurances of any kind, express or implied, with respect to such information, including any information on linked sites and including, but not limited to, accuracy of the information or its completeness, timeliness, usefulness, adequacy, continued availability, or ownership.