Value of Education: Traditional and CBE

Is there a lack of trust in the higher education system? It seems there is a growing number of people speaking out against higher education due to the high cost and lack of return. Even with this increase in perception, there is tremendous value in learning as it has always been sought by people looking to improve their life situation. Increasing personal knowledge has always been associated with growth in value, income, and impact. Over time that goal of increasing education has remained, however, the value of traditional education has diminished. 

There are two main educational opportunities in the current higher education system – traditional and Competency Based Education (CBE). The two main indicators of a traditional system are time-based courses and a letter grade system. Additionally, traditional education assesses students on information knowledge. CBE is based on a student’s ability to demonstrate knowledge and skill in a particular learning and not bound by a specific seat time requirement. 

Traditional colleges offer large lecture halls and large campuses which validates the continuous demand for education. With a college degree, one would hope to obtain a high paying job. Sadly, that is not always the case due to changing job demands, time to get a degree, and a potential skills gap. When reviewing the time it can take to get a traditional college degree, it can create a potential skills gap from what was learned early in the program to what industry is using. Additionally, the grading scale of traditional education builds an acceptance of ‘not knowing information’ into the model. Compound the missed learning and skills over a course, and program, and it equals potentially unfair student success measures. 

Competency Based Education (CBE) is a way of educating students that provides knowledge and skills. CBE places value back in education. In addition, it allows for learning to take place, and requires a way for students to demonstrate their skills within each assessment. As students can progress at their own pace, there is often a shorter time to degree completion. Additionally, validating the competency will ensure the potential skills gap is reduced and students are placed in a better position to succeed. 

When reviewing traditional education and CBE, we see that traditional education requires assessments focused on knowledge and thought to obtain a letter grade. The grade is that validation of understanding. In comparison, CBE requires a faculty with relevant industry experience to validate the knowledge and application of skills within the response. If the competency is not present then the student cannot progress forward, thus allowing additional learning to occur. CBE places value back into education, thus bringing back the value to the student and their goals.