Competency-Based Education Offers an Important Alternative to Higher Education’s Problems of Access and Cost

David Schejbal, dean of UW- Extension, Division of Continuing Education, Outreach and E-Learning, recently wrote for Inside Higher Ed about the ways in which competency-based education addresses the needs for quality, affordability, efficiency, and individualized learning at the college level. At the heart of the piece, he asserts that competency-based education is not intended to be a cure-all for the challenges facing higher education today, but rather, a viable and compelling alternative that “expands students’ options for learning and most importantly, expands their access while focusing on what they know and are able to do.” With expert faculty leading the design of curriculum and setting the standards for success, competency-based education gives students who otherwise might not pursue a degree one more option for obtaining a quality education, on their own terms and potentially at lower cost.

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