More Competency-Based Programs are Here!

[sanantone]

Texas A&M University at Commerce and South Texas College said Thursday that they are working with Pearson Education to open a competency-based, affordable hybrid degree for Texas students by next spring.

The Texas Affordable Baccalaureate Program is set to offer a 90-credit-hour online program that relies on a competency-based curriculum, according to a news release. Students will earn a degree in organizational leadership.

2 Texas Colleges Will Offer Competency-Based Hybrid Degree – Wired Campus - Blogs - The Chronicle of Higher Education

They are using "hybrid" in the typical manner. The program is part competency-based and part earning credits by earning means such as college courses and prior learning assessments.

Additionally, students may receive appropriate academic credit through other pathways such as military credit and third-party assessment of prior learning. The project involves a unique collaboration between a university and a community college in the development and delivery of an affordable baccalaureate degree.

Pearson | Always Learning

Broward College

The college is piloting the program this semester for 50 students seeking an associate's of science degree in information technology. A similar approach is being used to help students deficient in math skills, and officials are considering expanding it to more students.

New program could speed up the time it takes to earn a college degree, no longer forcing students to attend class all semester - Sun Sentinel

Argosy University (Psychology, Business, Education, Health Sciences Degree Programs - Argosy University) today announced that it has received approval from the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WASC) to offer a competency-based Master of Business Administration program.

Argosy University Announces Establishment of the Center for Learning Innovation and Approval of the New Competency-Based Master of Business Administration Program - Argosy University

[publius2k4]

2 Texas Colleges Will Offer Competency-Based Hybrid Degree – Wired Campus - Blogs - The Chronicle of Higher Education

They are using "hybrid" in the typical manner. The program is part competency-based and part earning credits by earning means such as college courses and prior learning assessments.


Pearson | Always Learning

Broward College

New program could speed up the time it takes to earn a college degree, no longer forcing students to attend class all semester - Sun Sentinel


Argosy University Announces Establishment of the Center for Learning Innovation and Approval of the New Competency-Based Master of Business Administration Program - Argosy University

Broward College....that's a big deal for my family. My sister lives in Broward County!

[sanantone]

They are using "hybrid" in the typical manner.

That should be "they are not."

[Chebasaz]

What will be interesting is whether other schools will accept them without ACE review. TECEPs are not reviewed and yet they do get accepted by some schools, although not as often as ECE's which are in the National Guide.

I'm all for competency based programs, so it's a win either way. I'm just hoping these exams will give more options to those who aren't attending Broward, CSU, Argosy, etc.

[sanantone]

What will be interesting is whether other schools will accept them without ACE review. TECEPs are not reviewed and yet they do get accepted by some schools, although not as often as ECE's which are in the National Guide.

I'm all for competency based programs, so it's a win either way. I'm just hoping these exams will give more options to those who aren't attending Broward, CSU, Argosy, etc.

These aren't exams; these are degree programs using the same self-paced format as WGU. You're still earning regionally-accredited degrees. The only issue one might have with transfer credits is that these programs are in competency units instead of semester or quarter hours. I think you're crossing the two threads I made. This thread is about degree programs. The other thread is about earning credits from CSU Global by exam.

It's not common for people outside of the Big 3 to take TECEPs, but these should be easily transferable since they earn you credits from a regionally-accredited school. The only problem that might arise is that these are pass/fail. They don't need ACE review because you're actually earning credits directly from TESC like you would with Ohio University or CSU Global exams.

[Chebasaz]

Yep, that's what I was doing, my bad! I read the CSU links intently and then saw this post. I thought you had found even more like CSU and decided to respond with my concerns of transfer here instead of the CSU thread. That's what I get for going to bed early last night instead of reading all the links.

Now that I've rectified that error! - The Texas A&M one in particular looks really nice, though reading some of those comments makes me chuckle. I'm wondering what type of degree will be conferred for those 90 credits. It says a degree in Organizational Behavior, but doesn't say AA/BA, etc. Have you found anything else about this? My own Google searches are just coming up with different versions of the article. That second article by Pearson did have something interesting - "The U.S. Department of Education recently began encouraging colleges and universities to offer these types of classes." and another program listed here is being funded by Dept of Labor dollars. I find it interesting that the government is making this push. Good, but interesting.

The Argosy one looks really interesting. Unfortunately, I live in Maryland and that last paragraph dashed my hopes there.

[sanantone]

It's a BAS, Bachelor of Applied Science. I don't know why they made it a 90-credit program.

I need to go back and read the comments. :p

[TMW2010]

Argosy University Announces Establishment of the Center for Learning Innovation and Approval of the New Competency-Based Master of Business Administration Program - Argosy University

I'd been looking at this on a whim when this was first announced a few weeks ago since Argosy is owned by EDMC (the parent company that owns one of the schools at which I teach) and at this time it is not eligible to use Federal Financial aid. This will likely change in the future, but how long it will take to get it approved is unknown. This may impact people looking into the program, along with the fact that it's running around $3.5k for each 4 month semester, which is about double what Patten charges and more than WGU at $3250 (plus fees) for 6months. I'm not sure Argosy's name carries the weight to make the increased cost more appetizing than WGU or Patten. But I do applaud that they're taking the steps to move into the competency-based market. And if I end up going full-time at my school, EDMC pays tuition for programs offered by their umbrella of schools, so I may end up giving it a go while they foot the bill, depending on what other projects (degrees) I'm working on at the time.

[sanantone]

Yeah, I see Argosy's program the same way I see Capella's. WGU and Patten are not only cheaper, but WGU is non-profit and Patten is fairly unknown. When it comes to for-profit schools, unknown is better.

[publius2k4]

They don't need ACE review because you're actually earning credits directly from TESC like you would with Ohio University or CSU Global exams.

This is also (almost) exactly how WGU grants credits for many of their courses (objective assessments). The course material is available to you, but there is no actual coursework: you simply take the final exam (after passing a pre-test) and receive the credit for that course if you pass. Theoretically, WGU could offer these assessments for credit to non-WGU students.

(note: Objective assessments are not to be confused with performance assessments, which do have coursework.)