844-937-8679
844-937-8679
White Paper
A Holistic Perspective to Creating Successful CBE Programs at Scale
Abstract
°®¶¹´«Ã½ has continuously sought ways to support working adult students to meet their educational needs by offering different learning modalities and strategies as a central tenet to its philosophy that an adult university cannot be campus bound, but rather its borders must be defined by the lives of its students. To continually evolve and make good on this philosophy, the University innovated to design, create, and implement a new Competency-Based education (CBE) learning model as an option for its students in specific programs. The new CBE model was engineered to fit into a non-term academic structure by redesigning the program’s courses from the ground up, and by leveraging multiple sets of learning tools and technologies to decrease the cost of delivery and improve student support. This framework created the baseline structure in which the University could deliver a graduate degree program in less than one year for less than $11,000. Agile methodologies were leveraged to test the model while modifying services and support structures in real-time, using continuous improvement strategies leveraging student and faculty feedback. Using these feedback loops. the University was able to make improvements to its CBE programs holistically, which resulted in expansive growth to the programs where the University has now conferred over 5,000 graduates in a little over 6 years.
Contributors
Dan Barker is a Director of Student Services. Dan has led student support for CBE program since its inception at UOPX in 2020.
Marc Booker, PhD, is the Vice Provost of Strategy at °®¶¹´«Ã½. He has over two decades of experience in online and distance education, focusing on admissions, registrar, and academic administration roles.
Justin Hallock is a Senior Director of Change Management and Prosci Certified Change Practitioner. Justin has experience leading LMS transitions, HR system implementations, as well as legal and regulatory initiatives for the institution.
Niraj Kohli is a Practitioner Faculty at the °®¶¹´«Ã½, where he has taught for more than 25 years and served as one of the founding Faculty Mentors in the Competency-Based MBA program. He earned his MBA from the °®¶¹´«Ã½.
Leanna Montoya is a Senior Faculty Training Specialist with the °®¶¹´«Ã½ and has been part of the university community since 2002. She has been involved with Competency-Based Education since its inception at the university and is passionate about supporting faculty success through innovative training, practical resources, and professional development opportunities.
Mary Elizabeth Smith has been involved in educational innovation for over thirty years. She is currently the Director of Learning Innovation Strategy in the Center for Teaching and Learning at the °®¶¹´«Ã½. She was previously the Research and Implementation Strategist and the Director of Curriculum Development at the university..
Joe Tate is Sr. Director of Program and Policy Implementation and Associate Faculty at °®¶¹´«Ã½.
Kari Vorderlwandwehr is a Senior Faculty Training Specialist with the °®¶¹´«Ã½ and has been part of the university community since 2002. She has been involved with Competency-Based Education since its inception at the university and is passionate about supporting faculty success through innovative training, practical resources, and professional development opportunities.
Roy Whitmore serves as Program Chair in the College of Business and Information Technology at the °®¶¹´«Ã½. He also teaches business ethics at DePaul University