Competency-Based Education

Educate Online Launches Competency-Based Ed Management Program

• By Michael Hart
• 10/22/14

Educate Online has launched a new product that encompasses technology and services designed to help higher-education institutions both administer and provide competency-based education (CBE) to students.

According to Inside Higher Ed, more than 350 institutions now offer or are considering offering degree tracks that incorporate competency-based education.

"This is in direct response to where the market is today," said Educate Online Chief Product Officer Donna Ritchie.

Educate Online's new CBE Education Program Management Partnership is meant to help those schools, said Educate Online CEO Carol Vallone.

"There is great momentum in higher education around CBE programs, but it's not always easy for institutions to quickly develop, launch and manage these types of programs with their existing resources," Vallone said.

The new technology created by Educate Online with CBE students in mind is designed to help them and their teachers through assessment and allow them to proceed through their courses — all designed to prepare them for the work world — both accelerating and pausing as necessary.

Along with the technology, the company will also provide higher ed institutions that sign on with counseling and consulting services designed to help them:

• Drive enrollment;
• Attract students who are focused on job readiness;
• Educate non-traditional students with the flexibility they require; and
• Align their programs with employer needs.

Vallone said Educate Online's program will offer comprehensive services that include marketing, recruiting, enrollment management, program design and hosting and business services, all with a technology platform designed for CBE in a way that traditional learning management systems were not.