University of Kansas is looking to add Competency-Based Education

[bjcheung77]

For me, I'm a little strange, I don't usually look for AACSB, ACBSP, but instead, I look more at the classes offered and if it interests me more than other similar programs. As the subject matter usually is in something I'm more interested in, for example, some offer certs or concentrations in something in addition to the degree, and without the need of taking any extra classes.

[Pats20]

As everyone hear agrees that KU isn’t going to cheapen its brand by having the tuition prices of WGU or UMPI , I suspect the same is true when it comes to letting people complete degrees in 6 months. Not gonna happen.

[SophiaPrincess]

For some reason UK tends to mean the University of Kentucky.  No idea why.

Kentucky became a state in 1792. The University of Kentucky is far older than any university in Kansas so they got first use of UK.

[jg_nuy]

That is not quite right.

The University of Kansas was founded right after the Civil War. The University of Kentucky was originally known as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky until around 1908.

[SophiaPrincess]

That is not quite right.

The University of Kansas was founded right after the Civil War. The University of Kentucky was originally known as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky until around 1908.

I have relatives from Kentucky but was not well informed about the drama involving it's name.  The Disciples of Christ church founded Bacon College in Georgetown, KY in 1837. It was renamed Kentucky University in 1858. It would have been logical to use KU at this point. In 1861, the school was merged into Transylvania University which was founded in 1780. In 1865 Kentucky University was spun off as an independent university after receiving funding through the Morrill Land-Grant Act. In this process it was renamed the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky. In 1908 the school's name was changed to the State University, Lexington, Kentucky and then to the University of Kentucky in 1916. Whether you use the 1780 date or 1837, UK preceded KU as an institution but Kansas preserved their name longer.

Does anyone have an update for the CBE program at Kansas?

[Jonathan Whatley]

Does anyone have an update for the CBE program at Kansas?

"The HLC [regional accreditor] application for Project Management [master's degree] was recommended for approval by the Change Panel and will be on the agenda for final HLC approval January 6-7."

Regular updates here: jayhawkflex.ku.edu/news

[RbxFunRocks]

A bit of an update on what has happened in the time since:

• On January 15th, KU announced that its Project Management Flex program was approved by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). Now the school is awaiting approval from the U.S. Department of Education.
  
• The STEM Program has been approved by both the Kansas state's Board of Education and Department of Education.
  
• In the most recent update, the HOPE Program was on track to be submitted to the HLC by February 18.
  

[Vle045]

This will be interesting to see how it turns out. I found this on their site… The goal is that by the Fall 2025 semester, infrastructure will be in place to launch a full direct assessment academic program, including general education

[SophiaPrincess]

Since there have been no updates since February I emailed the program manager Jessica Patzke. She is on maternity leave. This is the response I received:

"Thank you for reaching out to the University of Kansas!

I am excited that you are interested in our Competency-Based programs at KU known as Jayhawk Flex. We are still developing our program portfolio and hope to launch our CBE programs later this fall for the 2025 term. Our Jayhawk Flex programs are the best-positioned to be completed in less than a year and are designed to be completed 100% in the CBE format for each degree. Our first degree will be a Master’s in Project Management and classes will begin Nov 2025. We hope to have the application for admission available by July 2025. I have added you to our contact list to receive notifications when the application is available. When the application for admission goes live, the tuition rate (known as a subscription in the CBE format) will be finalized. At this time, transfer credit will have to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. We hope to offer more graduate programs in Education and Management in 2026.

Would you be interested in talking with one of our Academic Success Navigators to discuss our current portfolio of traditional online programs? If so, I will have someone from that team connect with you via email and schedule a phone call.

Thank you again for your interest.

Rock Chalk,

Misty Chandler
Assistant Vice Provost, Academic Success
University of Kansas "

I had to look up the reference to 'Rock Chalk'. It comes from a song they chant during sporting events. Apparently, an undergraduate program is not their priority at this time but CBE master's degrees are a nice addition to graduate education options.

[Duneranger]

Since there have been no updates since February I emailed the program manager Jessica Patzke. She is on maternity leave. This is the response I received:

"Thank you for reaching out to the University of Kansas!

I am excited that you are interested in our Competency-Based programs at KU known as Jayhawk Flex.  We are still developing our program portfolio and hope to launch our CBE programs later this fall for the 2025 term.  Our Jayhawk Flex programs are the best-positioned to be completed in less than a year and are designed to be completed 100% in the CBE format for each degree.  Our first degree will be a Master’s in Project Management and classes will begin Nov 2025.  We hope to have the application for admission available by July 2025.  I have added you to our contact list to receive notifications when the application is available.  When the application for admission goes live, the tuition rate (known as a subscription in the CBE format) will be finalized.  At this time, transfer credit will have to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.  We hope to offer more graduate programs in Education and Management in 2026.

Would you be interested in talking with one of our Academic Success Navigators to discuss our current portfolio of traditional online programs?  If so, I will have someone from that team connect with you via email and schedule a phone call.

Thank you again for your interest.

Rock Chalk,

Misty Chandler
Assistant Vice Provost, Academic Success
University of Kansas "

I had to look up the reference to 'Rock Chalk'. It comes from a song they chant during sporting events. Apparently, an undergraduate program is not their priority at this time but CBE master's degrees are a nice addition to graduate education options.

My dad went to KU, Rock Chalk Jayhawk has been around for nearly 150 years. It gets pretty loud.