Dive Brief:
- The first competency-based degree at Purdue will be offered by the Purdue Polytechnic Institute as a bachelor’s degree in transdisciplinary studies in technology.
- In announcing accreditor approval for the degree, the university said the program will emphasize “creation, application, and transfer of knowledge through hands-on learning,” marking progress by learning rather than time.
- To graduate with the degree, students must demonstrate mastery of eight primary competencies that are broken down into five sub-competencies, and as students progress, their work will be showcased in an e-portfolio.
Dive Insight:
Competency-based education programs are increasingly being seen as a necessary adaptation to the needs of modern students, many of whom enroll in higher education programs as working adults with caregiving duties and other distractions. At least three-quarters of undergraduates today are considered “nontraditional,” meaning they are not going straight from a standard high school program to college. These students bring more life experiences to the classroom, and educators are starting to figure out ways to give them formal credit for their knowledge.
Brandman University, in Irvine, Calif., and the University of Wisconsin are two leaders in competency-based education, both with permission from the federal government to award financial aid for their programs. In December, they shared five key lessons about developing CBE offerings that work.