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For institutions that, in response to this notice, submit letters of interest for the Competency-Based Education experiment, the Secretary's process for selecting participating institutions will remain the same as was described in the July 31, 2014, notice.

Under the Subscription Period Disbursement set of waivers, the institution may include in its determination of a student's enrollment status competencies that begin prior to the start of the subscription period, as long as it does not include those competencies in enrollment status for two different payment periods. Institutions will disburse title IV aid based on the student's anticipated enrollment for a subscription period (which is equivalent to a payment period) rather than requiring completion of a specific number of competencies prior to making subsequent disbursements of title IV aid. While an institution will determine a student's title IV aid amounts based on the student's anticipated enrollment status, the institution will be required to perform a satisfactory academic progress evaluation for the student at the end of each subscription period (payment period) to ensure that the student has completed the appropriate number of competencies in that payment period, given the student's enrollment status.

For each payment period, students will be assigned by the institution an enrollment status (full-time, half-time, three-quarter time, less than half-time) based on the student's expected enrollment in and completion of competencies for the payment period. After consulting with the student, the institution will determine the student's enrollment status based on a realistic assessment by the institution of the number of competencies that the student will complete during the payment period

an institution will not be permitted to count a unique competency or course toward a student's enrollment status for more than one payment period

to use this set of waivers, an institution must have a mechanism for determining that a student has been participating in a competency during a payment period.

Subscription Period Disbursement set of waivers will modify the statutory and regulatory requirements for monitoring satisfactory academic progress so that an institution will be required to evaluate a student's pace by using competencies completed over calendar time, rather than by dividing a student's completed credit hours by attempted credit hours

he institution must evaluate a student's satisfactory academic progress after every subscription period (payment period), rather than at least once annually, even if the program is more than one academic year in length

he institution must evaluate a student's pace using two separate measures:

The student's progress for the payment period immediately prior to the evaluation, calculated using the number of credit hours or equivalents completed over the number of credit hours or equivalents included in the student's enrollment status for that payment period

he student's cumulative rate of progress, calculated by dividing the aggregate number of credit hours or equivalents completed as of the end of the payment period by the total number of credit hours or equivalents expected to be completed as of the end of that payment period in order for the student to complete the program within the maximum timeframe

r its evaluation of a student's cumulative rate of progress, the institution could use different standards for students on different enrollment tracks—for example, there could be a different maximum timeframe for a student on a half-time enrollment track, for whom the normal time for completion of the program is longer than for a student on a full-time enrollment track.

If a student fails either of the two satisfactory academic progress evaluations, the student will have failed to make satisfactory academic progress and will, based on the institution's satisfactory academic progress policies, either be assigned to a financial aid warning period or immediately lose eligibility for title IV funds. Institutions will have the same flexibility to establish options for appeals, probation periods, and academic plans as they do under the current regulations.

The toughest nut to crack for competency-based education appears to be bachelor’s degrees aimed at traditional-age students.

hat’s what Purdue University is doing with a newly approved bachelor’s in transdisciplinary studies in technology

ombines technical disciplines with the humanities.

Customization is a big part of the degree’s novelty.

which will blend technology-focused disciplines such as computing, construction management, engineering, and aviation with social sciences, the humanities and business.

kills employers need for a “thinking economy.” That means complex problem solving, effective communication, critical thinking and ethical judgmen

igital badges and produce e-portfolios to display their work

In order to do that in a traditional sense, this student would have to get at least one major and three minors

urdue’s degree track is based on the credit-hour standard, in which the demonstration of competencies is linked to corresponding college credit

he U.S. Department of Education has taken some heat from its own Office of the Inspector General for approving direct-assessment degrees

an inspector general audit of Western Governors University over the faculty role in competency-based education (the results of which have yet to be made public), have had a chilling effect on how regional accreditors view proposals for new direct assessment and other competency-based degrees

mployer groups, such as the National Association of Manufacturers, praised the new degree in written statements.

To scale a program with this level of customization would be challenging,

evaluating rules for competency-based education and the outsourcing of academic programs to nonaccredited providers

ccreditors have clamored for the department to get rid of the credit-hour definition, complaining it is difficult for them to track. Officials from some colleges, particularly those offering competency-based programs, have argued that the standard makes it difficult to comply with federal aid requirements.

The credit hour probably interferes with innovation almost more than anything

biggest providers of nontraditional education today -- online colleges -- have far more data on faculty instruction and student engagement than any other type of institution. And accreditors, she said, would come up with new ways to evaluate academic workloads based on that data.

department will propose that negotiators discuss federal rules for the outsourcing of portions of academic programs to nonaccredited or noncollege providers

Currently, no more than half of a program can be administered by an outside entity, such as an online program management (OPM) company

uild on lessons being learned from an Obama-era experiment to allow such partnerships to receive federal aid, dubbed the EQUIP program

e department wants to put more of an onus on colleges to justify not taking transfer credit,

release a notice inviting applications this week for a $1.5 million grant to study online education which will contribute to the growing body of evidence about what works in online education, especially for low-income and first-generation students.