An educational method focused on learning outcomes and the demonstration of knowledge and skills by students rather than on seat time and traditional credit hours.
Published in Chapter:
Measuring What Matters: The UW Flexible Option's Framework to Measure Success from the Student Vantage Point
Aaron Brower (University of Wisconsin – Extension, USA), Sandra Kallio (University of Wisconsin – Extension, USA), Rebecca Karoff (University of Texas System, USA), Mark Mailloux (University of Wisconsin – Extension, USA), and David Schejbal (University of Wisconsin – Extension, USA)
Copyright: © 2017
|Pages: 15
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-0932-5.ch014
Abstract
This chapter demonstrates that competency-based education requires a different set of student success metrics, and introduces the metrics framework developed by and for the University of Wisconsin's UW Flexible Option (UW Flex). UW Flex is a direct assessment competency-based self-paced model for earning degrees and certificates from institutions in the UW System. It was supported by a grant from Lumina Foundation to develop a competency-based education blueprint for success and includes a set of student-centric metrics meaningful to the model, the curriculum, and the students who are being served in Flex programs. The framework defines student success as students moving through programs at their own pace, demonstrating mastery of subject matter, and meeting academic goals. Program-level metrics aggregate each of these three student-level metrics to provide useful information about the success of a program. The authors also build the case that strategic management of resources is required to overcome challenges inherent in implementing the UW Flexible Option metrics framework.