Schools

Granite State College, University System Chosen for Education Initiative

Lumina Foundation's jumpstart funding will help institutions evaluate students on skills gained instead of time spent in a course.

Granite State College and the University System of New Hampshire are among 14 colleges and universities across the country selected to participate in the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) Competency Based Education (CBE) Jumpstart program, CAEL CEO and President Pamela Tate announced today.  

Funded by the Lumina Foundation, the initiative will help build the capacity of higher education institutions to offer competency-based education degree programs to assist students so they can make progress towards a degree by successfully completing assessments of a defined set of competencies, rather than solely through successful completion of credit-hour based coursework. For many, this could dramatically decrease the time it takes for them to earn a degree.

In making the announcement Tate said, “Competency-based approaches take the important step of placing the focus on what a student knows and can do, while minimizing the importance of where the student learned it or how long it took to learn. CAEL is excited to be working with these colleges and universities to help them launch CBE initiatives to enable adults to access new learning modes, demonstrate their college-level competencies and progress more rapidly to degree completion.”

Find out what's happening in Concordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The other institutions selected are: 

  • Kalamazoo Valley Community College, Kalamazoo Michigan
  • Los Angeles Trade Technical College, Los Angeles, California
  • The New School, New York, New York
  • Golden Gate University, San Francisco, California
  • LeTourneau University, Longview, Texas
  • Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis, Indiana
  • Valdosta State University, Valdosta, Georgia
  • Minnesota State Colleges and University System
  • Community College of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Davenport University, Grand Rapids, Michigan
  • Pace University, New York, New York
  • University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio
  • Missouri Department of Higher Education/Missouri Community College Association

CAEL will provide training for faculty and staff involved in each institution’s competency-based education program.  The training will be followed up with additional support through webinars on selected topics that each school may be interested in pursuing.  Select institutions will also have the opportunity for more in-depth consulting with a CAEL subject matter expert. 

Find out what's happening in Concordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The move toward embracing CBE has been growing as numbers of higher education officials and legislators across the country continue to support it as an option for students pursuing a degree. President Obama praised CBE in his August 2013 speech on affordability in higher education, and the Governors in Indiana, Texas and Wisconsin have also supported competency-based approaches in postsecondary education. 

“When it comes to providing opportunities for adults to receive a college degree, there should be many different options for them to access learning and credentials which is why competency-based education is so vital,” concluded Tate. “We are excited to be working with these colleges and universities to help expand opportunities for everyone pursuing a degree, and thank Lumina Foundation for their generous support of this important initiative.”

Granite State College is one of the four institutions of the University System of New Hampshire, New Hampshire's public university system. Its primary mission is to serve as the system's statewide college for adults, in addition to being New Hampshire's leader in delivering online education.  It is proud to offer associate, bachelor's and master's degrees, post-baccalaureate programs for teacher education, transfer opportunities, and online degree programs. By offering degree programs in high-demand fields combined with flexible scheduling, Granite State College makes it possible to balance the responsibilities of work and/or family while earning a college degree.

Submitted by The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here