Dive Brief:
- Purdue University’s Purdue Polytechnic Institute is planning a trans-disciplinary bachelor’s degree program based on competency assessments instead of traditional grading.
- The institute, formerly the College of Technology, plans to start admitting students into the degree program in the fall of 2015.
- With a program based on learned and demonstrated competencies, also known as direct assessment, prospective employers can get a better read on what graduates are able to do, according to the university.
Dive Insight:
Purdue awarded the institute a $500,000 prize for the new bachelor’s degree program, which will admit 100 students in its first semester. Because competency-based degrees are awarded when concepts and skills are mastered, rather than on fixed calendar dates, students can save on the time and cost required for their degrees. Students in any discipline will be able to sign up for the degree program, and 36 enrolled for the fall of 2014 through their home departments of the College of Technology and Exploratory Studies. While students will graduate with the same degree as before, they’ll be able to mix and match concentrations that reflect their interests, according to the university, which gave the examples of agriculture and mobile app design, and English and storyboard animation.