The second paper is “The Currency of Higher Education: Credits and Competencies,” which explores the challenges in adapting the traditional credit hour to an information-age economy that relies on greater flexibility and productivity. Credits and competencies both reflect important structures of value for diverse stakeholders: government agencies, educational leaders and administrators, faculty, assessors, students and employers.
“Credits are likely to remain deeply embedded in postsecondary systems for some time, but there is ample opportunity for innovation with competencies as a complementary currency,” said Deborah Everhart, director of solutions strategy at Blackboard.
CBE programs are challenged by systems integration, technology and process adaptations needed throughout the student lifecycle for scalability and efficacy. Students need to know how they can evaluate the quality of a CBE program, but little structure is currently available to help students in this regard, according to the report.
“Implementing CBE practices in the credit-hour environments is complex, but faces fewer barriers and can more rapidly provide benefits to large numbers of students when outcomes-based approaches are compatible with credit-hour systems and processes,” said Deborah Seymour, assistant vice president of ACE’s Center for Education Attainment and Innovation.
Employers are key stakeholders both in the definition of CBE credentials and in the credentials’ marketability, notes the report. Badges and other micro-credentials can be useful bearers of competencies achieved, and as employers begin to accept their value, they can become part of the framework for competency exchange value.
“We are pleased to share these insightful papers and believe they will contribute to the national dialogue on ways colleges and universities are creating alternative pathways to college completion,” said ACE President Molly Corbett Broad.
Material from a press release was used in this report.
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