New Study: Less Expensive Competency-Based Education Programs Just As Good As Traditional Programs

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Por: Forbes.com/Tom Lindsay/28-03-2018

College students and their parents find it increasingly difficult to cope with tuition hyperinflation and historically high student-loan debt. Over the last 30 years, the average tuition for a U.S. bachelor’s degree at a traditional four-year college increased more than 15 times faster than the average household income in the United States. Students who borrow graduate with an average of $27,000 in student loans. Student loan defaults slow economic growth by limiting access to credit, stifling entrepreneurship, and reducing long-term buying power.

In an effort to address this crisis, we at the Texas Public Policy Foundation commissioned Goldman Insights (Joseph Goldman, Phoebe Long, and Lillian Leone) to study of the possibilities of an alternative to traditional higher education—competency-based education (CBE). Under CBE, students earn their degrees by demonstrating their skills and knowledge in required subjects through a series of assessments. As with traditional education, they take tests and write papers; unlike traditional education, CBE degrees do not focus on “seat time” or credit hours. Rather, CBE degrees aim to certify that all its graduates are competent in their fields at or beyond a specific standard. Competency-based bachelor’s degree programs offer an alternative for nontraditional students who may not have the time or resources to complete a four-year program yet still desire a rigorous, meaningful education.

In order to develop a robust understanding of different fields within CBE, we analyzed graduates of three different competency-based programs in teaching, nursing, and organizational leadership.

What we found bodes well for students, especially those from lower-income backgrounds.

 The first paper published from the Competency-Based Education: Graduate Outcomes Study (CBE GO, I) is titled, “Career and Financial Outcomes of Graduates of Competency-based Higher Education Programs.” In it, we surveyed graduates from two leading competency-based courses of study, the Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) from an anonymous university (Institution X) and the Bachelor of Arts degree from the Teachers College at Western Governors University (WGU). We measured the career and financial outcomes of these graduates with those from other comparable traditional nursing and teaching programs. In addition, we interviewed graduates of South Texas College’s (STC) CBE degree in Organizational Leadership to gauge their experiences and career outcomes.

The findings of the first part of our CBE study suggest that CBE degree programs such as the Associate Degree of Nursing at Institution X and the BA degree at WGU’s Teachers College may be financially more attainable for students from a lower socio-economic background, thus opening the door for more Americans to pursue registered nurse (RN) and teaching credentials.

With regard to the CBE program in nursing (Associate Degree of Nursing), Institution X graduates were assessed using a modified version of the Work Readiness Scale, developed by Arlene Walker of Deakin University. They were also asked grit-related questions developed by Dr. Angela Duckworth as a part of her Short Grit Scale. Institution X graduates scored significantly higher in all areas, including social intelligence, organizational acumen, work competence, personal management, grit, and work readiness overall. Non-Institution X graduates surveyed who borrowed money accumulated 2.3 times more debt during their nursing education than Institution X graduates.

Interestingly, although fewer graduates from Institution X received financial assistance toward their tuition, more graduated debt-free than non-Institution X graduates.

*Fuente: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomlindsay/2018/03/27/new-study-less-expensive-competency-based-education-programs-just-as-good-as-traditional-programs/#50a8c557674d

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