There is a rising trend nationwide of competency-based education, which requires mastering a subject for advancement — no matter the time it takes to do so. Schools aim to increase scheduling flexibility compared with traditional standards, like credit hours.
Students move at their own pace, can personalize their course of study and save money using blended learning techniques like online and in-person instruction.
“Competency-based education makes sense,” said Dr. Julie Byerley, vice dean for education at the UNC School of Medicine. “You describe an outcome that you want the learners to achieve. When (they) achieve that outcome, they can be done with their education.”
The School of Medicine incorporates competency-based learning into its medical curriculum with seven goals for proficiency that students must achieve, Byerley said.
Keith Sawyer, a UNC education professor, said he does not believe these so-called competency systems will challenge the traditional university structure or the bachelor’s degree model of competence.
“The real philosophy behind it has nothing to do with the university,” Sawyer said. “The argument behind competency-based is you should be able to demonstrate that you are competent in a variety of ways.”
Freshman Eric Lee said the application of competency-based education holds potential, though it could be difficult to assess students.
“The real challenge in implementing that kind of system would be creating an equitable and consistent method for evaluating each of the many skills that you would probably end up testing,” he said.
