Development of Competency-Based Education Programs and its Assessment Models in the USA

Examining the Transformation to a Flexible Tertiary Education System

Abstract

　 Let us assume that tertiary education development involves incorporating non-traditional learning opportunities into traditional higher education frameworks. If this is the case, understanding competency-based education (CBE) at the higher education level, which is being developed intermittently in the USA, may contribute to considerations related to tertiary education.
　 This paper primarily attempts to clarify the significance of CBE in US higher education, a kind of assessment method that does not necessarily require students to spend seat time, by examining the state of regulatory development related to CBE, which was revived in the United States, particularly during the 2010s, while focusing on the Experiment Sites Initiatives (ESI). Then, based on the results from national surveys of CBE programs, it traces the trends of CBE programs nationwide in the US, which appear rather static. Building on these findings, it examines a specific direct-evaluation model CBE program.
　 In conclusion, this paper highlights the need for leadership and centralized progress management in policymaking for the healthy development of tertiary education as the meeting point of traditional higher education and non-traditional learning. It also underscores the need to emphasize liberal arts in such developments of the tertiary education system to cultivate learners’ abilities as lifelong learners. Incorporating quantity and quality into liberal arts education in a flexible tertiary education system may help to foster public trust in this educational approach. In addition, it suggests the potential utilization of ESI in the higher education policy-making process.