Western Governors University and Competency-Based Education

2011 ◽  
pp. 2029-2035
Author(s):  
Douglas B. Johnstone
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Competency Based Education ◽  
Western Governors University ◽  
Competency Based ◽  
Regionally Accredited

Western Governors University (WGU) was formally established in 1996 by the governors of 19 western states. From its inception it was committed to delivering all of its programs through distance technologies and to graduating its students only on the basis of their demonstrated competency. It is today the only regionally accredited university in the United States to award its degrees exclusively on this basis.

Western Governors University and Competency-Based Education

2011 ◽  
pp. 2377-2384
Author(s):  
Douglas B. Johnstone
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Competency Based Education ◽  
Western Governors University ◽  
Competency Based ◽  
Regionally Accredited

Western Governors University (WGU) was formally established in 1996 by the governors of 19 western states. From its inception it was committed to delivering all of its programs through distance technologies and to graduating its students only on the basis of their demonstrated competency. It is today the only regionally accredited university in the United States to award its degrees exclusively on this basis.

Weaving Innovative Threads Together

2018 ◽  
pp. 22-35
Author(s):  
Judee Richardson
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Skill Levels ◽  
Competency Based Education ◽  
University Of Wisconsin ◽  
Societal Needs ◽  
Specific Performance ◽  
Competency Based ◽  
The University

In the United States, institutions of higher education have been under mounting pressure to improve. In part, this is due to increasingly high-priced academies producing graduates who possess skill levels that are out of sync with employer and societal needs. Added to this is the fact that the United States spends more than other countries to educate its citizens but continues to perform more poorly on comparative measures of literacy, math, reading, and science. To stay globally competitive, changes need to be made. Competency-based education has re-emerged and taken root as one way in which to educate students more effectively. By focusing on demonstrable learning outcomes and discipline-specific performance, competency-based education is changing the fabric of higher education. Based upon experiences garnered from the University of Wisconsin Flexible Option, this chapter presents some of the challenges encountered when developing this type of program within a longstanding traditional educational system.

Competency-Based Education and Assessment

2019 ◽  
pp. 112-132
Author(s):  
Melissa Wallace
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Hybrid Model ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
Reliability And Validity ◽  
State Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Certification Exams ◽  
Competency Based Education ◽  
Competency Based

In an attempt to analyze the reliability and validity of the most frequently used oral certification exams for court interpreters in the United States, this chapter examines the basic test model used for state-level certification through the lens of concepts in testing theory. Having identified several limitations to the currently used performance-based model, a hybrid model which includes competency-based education and assessment is proposed. By building on best practices in competency-based education, the alternative credentialing paradigm proposed here would represent an innovation in the context of court interpreter certification in the United States, requiring the transfer of assessment criteria usually used in traditional educational contexts into the realm of professional training. The proposed hybrid model would necessitate a shift from one high-stakes exam to assessment of a series of compartmentalized competency clusters that would account for soft skills and dispositional traits not currently assessed.

scholarly journals Hands in medicine: understanding the impact of competency-based education on the formation of medical students’ identities in the United States

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Gonsalves ◽  
Zareen Zaidi
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Social Role ◽  
Clinical Skills ◽  
Core Competencies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Competency Based Education ◽  
Competency Based ◽  
The Impact

Purpose: There have been critiques that competency training, which defines the roles of a physician by simple, discrete tasks or measurable competencies, can cause students to compartmentalize and focus mainly on being assessed without understanding how the interconnected competencies help shape their role as future physicians. Losing the meaning and interaction of competencies can result in a focus on ‘doing the work of a physician’ rather than identity formation and ‘being a physician.’ This study aims to understand how competency-based education impacts the development of a medical student’s identity. Methods: Three ceramic models representing three core competencies ‘medical knowledge,’ ‘patient care,’ and ‘professionalism’ were used as sensitizing objects, while medical students reflected on the impact of competency-based education on identity formation. Qualitative analysis was used to identify common themes. Results: Students across all four years of medical school related to the ‘professionalism’ competency domain (50%). They reflected that ‘being an empathetic physician’ was the most important competency. Overall, students agreed that competency-based education played a significant role in the formation of their identity. Some students reflected on having difficulty in visualizing the interconnectedness between competencies, while others did not. Students reported that the assessment structure deemphasized ‘professionalism’ as a competency. Conclusion: Students perceive ‘professionalism’ as a competency that impacts their identity formation in the social role of ‘being a doctor,’ albeit a competency they are less likely to be assessed on. High-stakes exams, including the United States Medical Licensing Exam clinical skills exam, promote this perception.

scholarly journals Competency-Based Education: The What, Why, and How: 2019

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Littenberg-Tobias ◽  
Elizabeth Huttner-Loan ◽  
Kelley Hirsch ◽  
Abigail Machson-Carter ◽  
Garrett Beazley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
High School ◽  
The United States ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Competency Based Education ◽  
Competency Based ◽  
The Creation

Competency-Based Education: The Why, What, and How (January 31-March 13, 2019) was amassive open online course (MOOC) that invited learners to consider the nature of competency-basededucation (CBE), why schools pursue it, and the opportunities and challenges educators and others facewhen implementing it. The course featured schools at various stages of implementing competencybased education, including Crosstown High (a member of the cohort of XQ schools in Tennessee, USA),Montpelier High School (Vermont, USA), and Noble High School (Maine, USA). Nearly 4,000 educatorsand others from across the United States and 120+ countries enrolled and many engaged inreflective activities and assignments, notablyworking towards the creation of an artifact thatwould support a conversation around CBE with astakeholder in their context.

scholarly journals Experiences of Grade Inflation at an Online University in the United States: An Autoethnography

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Blum
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Faculty Member ◽  
Grade Inflation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Extant Literature ◽  
Cultural Effect ◽  
Regionally Accredited

Grade inflation is a problem at universities in the United States. To understand the cultural effect of grade inflation at a regionally accredited online university in the United States, I conducted autoethnographic research as a participant and observer. In this autoethnographic study, the purpose of my research was to explore my experiences being immersed in a grade inflation culture. I addressed a gap of autoethnographic research related to a culture of grade inflation existing at an online university in the United States. I provided seven themes serving as my discoveries related to my observations and participation as a faculty member. My discoveries supported my assumptions that a culture of grade inflation likely exists at the online university. My discoveries also contribute to the overriding theme in the extant literature that grade inflation exists. My discoveries also support the concept that grade inflation is not limited to on ground universities but also extends to online universities in the United States.

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