WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 29, 2024) – Representatives Glenn Grothman (R-Wisconsin), Brittany Petterson (D-Colorado), and Burgess Owens (R-Utah) introduced the Empowering Learners through Competency-Based Education Act. This bipartisan bill would authorize a demonstration project under the Higher Education Act for institutions of higher education to expand student access to competency-based education (CBE) programs. Under the demonstration, CBE programs would be eligible for Title IV financial aid after meeting certain requirements.
Competency-based education replaces seat time, credit hours, and grades as the measures of student progress and completion with measurement of their demonstrated knowledge and skills. CBE programs typically allow learners to advance once they demonstrate competency in a particular area and offer students agency around how fast or slow they move, including the option to move through content they are familiar with faster and focus more time in other areas. Because CBE often requires learners to demonstrate knowledge and skills, learners can use previous work and learning experiences to accelerate their path to a credential or degree. Expanding access to CBE models would provide a greater range of flexible options at a time when learners are increasingly signaling that the traditional (in person, during 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. working hours) higher education model is not working for them.
“With fewer Americans enrolling in college, and more stopping out each year, learners need more ways to earn a postsecondary degree that are better designed to meet their lives and needs. We thank Representatives Grothman, Petterson, and Owens for introducing this bill to support the development and responsible scale of competency-based education models to provide learners with flexible pathways, anchored in competencies that are crucial for success in work and life,” said Jamie Fasteau, Executive Director, Center for Higher Education Policy and Practice at SNHU
For more information, visit Rep. Grothman’s site.
About CHEPP:
CHEPP is a non-partisan higher education research, policy, and advocacy organization grounded in the experiences of higher education learners and practitioners, affiliated with Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU). CHEPP and AIR co-authored Postsecondary CBE: A Primer for Policymakers and CHEPP recently released Online by Design: How Learner-Centered Higher Education Design And Delivery Accelerates Equitable Access And Outcomes.
Contact:
Siobhan Lopez
Southern New Hampshire University
Cell: 603.567.4589