Could measuring college students’ mastery of concrete skills help them see the value of a degree and get a job faster? Michael Horn and Jeff Selingo talk with Amber Garrison Duncan of the Competency Based Education Network and Kelle Parsons of the American Institutes of Research, both experts in competency-based education (CBE).
The four discuss the benefits of CBE, such as faster degree completion and increased student engagement. They stress the need for collaboration between employers and educational institutions to define and assess skills, bridging gaps between education and employment. Jeff and Michael advocate for increased understanding about CBE and aligning programs with local employers and their needs.
Kelle Parsons: “That is not to say that only we should only teach things that are really valuable to employers. There’s other things you want to include in a degree program for sure, but you do want to make sure that there’s some kind of consistency and that’s going to be a really important development in the field, I think, in the next five to 10 years.”