Competency-Based Education

Excelsior College Adds Partner for New CBE Program

• By Michael Hart
• 11/13/14

Excelsior College will partner in a plan to help higher-education institutions provide competency-based education (CBE) programs to their students.

Recognizing that more than 350 institutions now offer or are considering offering degree tracks that incorporate competency-based education, Excelsior, a college that has been delivering CBE programs longer than most, will join Educate Online, a company that provides CBE instructional services to the K-12 and higher ed markets, in the Program Management Partnership.

"We are at a pivotal point in higher education," said Council for Adult & Experiential Learning (CAEL) President and CEO Pamela Tate. "Institutions are increasingly moving toward CBE because it aligns to and meets employer needs in ways traditional programs are not able to."

The Program Management Partnership is a suite of services and technology to support institutions in market research, design, development and delivery of CBE degree programs. Educate Online introduced the program last month as a new product.

The new technology is intended to help students 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 partnership will also provide higher ed institutions 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.

Excelsior College President John Ebersole said, "Done right, CBE programs can boost enrollments, completion and placement rates."

The partnership was announced during the recent CAEL (Council for Adult & Experiential Learning) International Conference in Chicago.