Today's learners demand a new, agile model for education. They need options that are more accessible, flexible, and clearly aligned to careers. And to deliver on that, higher education has to break out of time-bound programs--15-credit hour semesters, two-year and four-year degrees--and concepts of learning that are strictly tied to traditional…

Competency-based education (CBE) is the hot new thing in higher education. While forms of CBE have been around since the 1970s, there has been a surge of interest in CBE, with more than 600 postsecondary institutions now reporting that they are either offering competency-based degree programs or are planning to do so. Similarly, institutional…

Today's competency-based education (CBE) programs are offering students a unique postsecondary experience that focuses more on student learning and less on whether or how long a student has spent time in a classroom. These programs focus on competencies rather than credit hours, require students to demonstrate those competencies through authentic…