The most valuable workers now and in the future will be those who can combine technical knowledge with human skills and adapt to the changing needs of the workplace.
The most valuable workers now and in the future will be those who can combine technical knowledge with human skills and adapt to the changing needs of the workplace.
APA Citation: Hora, M. T., Benbow, R. J., & Oleson, A. K. (2016). Beyond the skills gap. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press. 220 pages.
Beyond the skills gap discusses the increasing gap between the abilities of college graduates and the expectations of employers. The text investigates the correlation between college students’ skills, college programming, and curriculum against the expectation of employers regarding what they expect college graduates to be able to do upon employment. Using a qualitative approach, Hora, Benbow, and Oleson (2016) interviewed several employers in Wisconsin with a focus on what they are looking for regarding the abilities and knowledge of college graduates. The authors then use the data provided to investigate the efficacy of the Wisconsin higher education system.
While beyond the skills gap does not directly address competency-based education, the book includes underlining concepts included in the competency-based paradigm. Throughout the text, the authors describe skills employers are looking for from recent college graduates. These skills are closely aligned with competency-based education principals.
The authors open the text with a rhetorical question, which asks, “Why study the skills gap in Wisconsin?” This question forms the premise of the rest of the text. The authors move the reader through a series of factors, which are implied to be contributors to the skills gap. In the book's introduction, the authors claim that there is a debate within higher education. This debate includes those who argue that a skills gap is a phenomenon, which was poorly influencing companies worldwide. Others believe that the labor market industry initiated this skills gap fabrication in an attempt to shift the burden and responsibility of employee training to the public sector.
In chapter 1, the authors discuss the dynamic between business and education through the context of how the role of government influences this relationship. The authors take the reader through a brief history of the changes to Wisconsin public education. Then they discuss liberal arts programming, and the skill sets these programs offer students which they can use to transfer. The authors interview Dr. Janet Batzli about the importance of liberal arts education. Dr. Batzli indicated that she believes that a liberal arts education teaches students how to be a “mature adult in our society” and “an informed citizen” (p. 19). She goes on to say that these skills are transferable to the professional and social areas of society.
The authors continue through chapter 1 with additional history about the Wisconsin public school system detailing the expansion of the state's technical and community college system, which was “designed to boost the state's economy” (p. 24). Chapter 1 concludes with the college for al
Anderson University began re-designing one of its online degrees using competency-based education principles in 2015, using almost 2 years to develop the curriculum and implementation plans. The model is designed with maximum flexibility, letting students choose their path to competency at each course rather than developing both subscription and term models. In the term-based model that the university uses, students are able to add courses within a term if they finish sooner mid-session since courses allow for varying paces and paths all aligned to a set of program competencies developed through national standards for the profession and input from the program's advisory board. Investment by the university leadership, a dedicated implementation team, and a nimble organization allowed a successful program launch in fall 2018, overcoming many common barriers cited to achieve the benefits of increased program quality, alignment to competencies, higher retention and completion, and positive enrollment trends.
In 2013, the Canadian Athletic Therapists’ Association (CATA) Education Task Force made recommendations for future athletic therapy education in Canada with 10 consensus statements. Little progress has been reported to date, particularly on two statements: implementation of competency-based education (CBE) and establishing a valid, reliable, feasible, and financially viable practical national certification examination (NCE).
We sought to understand the perspectives of CATA program directors (PDs) as it related to implementation of CBE and potential abolishment of the practical examination.
A qualitative, phenomenological approach was employed to better understand the athletic therapy program directors’ lived experiences as it related to CBE implementation in their own educational institutions. Secondarily and related to understanding this phenomenon, we sought to understand PD perspectives on taking over the responsibility for establishing competence for their graduates as a surrogate to replace the practical NCE. Semi-structured interviews took place with the seven PDs or all CATA-accredited programs. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed for themes. We (ML and RD) independently and blindly established themes and later met to discuss the themes that emerged from the interviews.
Four key themes emerged from the analysis: (a) definition of CBE; (b) national standards; (c) trust; and (d) collaboration.
Each of the themes that emerged had the commonality that all were barriers to implement CBE. Some PDs did not think they were currently offering CBE, yet described many of the key features of CBE. A definition and national standard would help to progress the implementation of CBE.
Despite an enormous amount of research supporting the necessity for a caring perspective in nursing education, the literature reflects a dearth of information on efforts to uphold the internalization of the value of caring throughout the nursing curricula.
To explore the lived experiences of the nurses in relation to their caring competency grounded in competency-based education (CBE) pedagogy.
This study is a Heideggerian hermeneutic phenomenology. The professional nurses (n = 10) were selected using purposive sampling from a tertiary private hospital in Manila, Philippines, between February and March 2016. The data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interview and observation. The analysis and interpretation were guided by Van Manen's six-step method of phenomenology, and the criteria of qualitative scientific rigor were followed.
The results revealed five themes: (1) caring as outcome-oriented; (2) caring as transformative moment by moment; (3) caring as selfless commitment; (4) caring as valuing the worth of human life; and (5) caring as an achievement of a transcendent level of self-fulfillment. Further, the caring competency of nurses was symbolically represented by an upward spiral staircase which could be considered as a metaphor for growth.
The CBE was found to be effective in developing the caring competency of nurses, wherein it goes through a complex transformation process as they face different kinds of situations and experiences. The caring competent nurse can provide a holistic approach in providing care to various types of patients.
Competency-based education (CBE) as a means of awarding degrees and credentials in higher education has emerged as a student-centric, personalized academic design with the potential to transform learning; however, the variety that currently exists in program design and delivery has limited the development opportunities for systemic enterprise solutions. To scale, expand, and enhance the delivery of these programs, new technological systems and administrative processes are required, as existing enterprise systems do not support flexible configurations of automated business processes that respond to institutions that deliver both traditional and CBE programs.
The research presented explores the basic system design and configuration elements that are necessary to electronically facilitate the student, academic, and business functions in higher education CBE programs.
A national survey was conducted collecting data on CBE program design and practices as it relates to enterprise system elements.
Based on the results of the survey, it is recommended that future efforts in the next-generation enterprise technology, specifically student information systems, focus on three foundational building blocks: course/program catalogs, class/schedule building, and term/subterm timeframes. By integrating key configuration options into these three areas, the variety across institutional design can be accounted for, and flexibility for future innovative instructional models can be addressed.
Additional consideration, in future research, should be given to the interplay between systems to create a technological ecosystem responsive to the individual student with the educational process.
As new education models emerge in the higher education landscape, constituents and stakeholders increasingly demand greater evidence of the return on investment to the institution. To date, little research has explored and reported the financial underpinnings and outcomes for new models such as Competency-based Education (Desrochers & Staisloff, 2016, http://rpkgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/rpkgroup_cbe_business_model_report_20161018.pdf). This case study explores and reports on potential revenues and expenses associated with launching competency-based programs, identify break-even points, and forecast timelines for projecting returns on investments. The analyses included in this study encompass the entirety of the program, from inception to current state. A narrative and visual description reveals that the competency-based program has grown to be self-sustaining within five years. In the sixth year, enrollment trends predict a new record for the program, with forecasts indicating increased return on investment for the university by year end. The results support the notion that institutions should expect a competency-based program of this type to break-even by the fifth year of operation (Desrochers & Staisloff, 2016, http://rpkgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/rpkgroup_cbe_business_model_report_20161018.pdf). Additionally, this work seeks to serve as a foundation of exploration and reporting of evolutionary business models related to innovative approaches in higher education such as competency-based education.
This paper describes the development of application-oriented competency frameworks using the example of a project to develop such a framework for existing study programs in the domain of business and law at a Swiss university of applied sciences. Competency frameworks define study program goals on different achievement levels. Using analysis of typical work scenarios for graduates and employer expectations as a starting point, competencies were formulated that represent what students should be able to demonstrate by the end of their studies. A series of structured interviews were conducted with employers to validate the competency frameworks. The findings show that both professional and generic competencies are central to the employability of graduates. While professional competency is regarded as a basic requirement, generic competency allows graduates to distinguish themselves from other candidates both when starting their work life and later when pursuing and advancing their career. The development of competency frameworks forms the basis for the assessment of four dimensions: professional, methodological, social, and self-competencies; an additional aim is the further development of teaching and learning activities.
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