Competency based education (CBE) and Student Affairs: Fast friends or cautious companions?

Competency is what we do.  We engage students in leadership roles, employment opportunities, programs and services in ways that help them continue to develop into positive contributing members of our communities.  But my concern is how we help students tell their story of who they are and what they can do. In short, can we, through direct measures, confidently enable our students to say what they can do, not what they have done? 

Document. Document. Document. We need to know who we touch at the student level. Documenting who we touch can result in connecting a student’s competency to that impact.  Also, when a student can document development and competency built as a result of engagement with departments in student affairs, that is a win for us all.

Recognizing direct measures. Basing competencies on direct measures versus self-reported gains will be critical for validity.  As the increased pressures for “real” outcomes of higher education are more evident, student affairs practitioners need to move to using demonstrations of competency over perceptions. We can no longer rely on adding a survey question on whether a student has problem-solving skills.  Students will need to share more detailed information about problems and their role in coming to a solution.  And often we are on the front lines, with the students watching them solve these problems.

Telling the story of competency.  Students will need to be able to share what they can do once they leave our campuses.  It is a natural role for student affairs professionals to mentor, coach, or advise students in how to articulate what they are learning through their entire campus experience. We can build programs to support competency based outcomes.

If one thing has remained consistent, it has been that student affairs professionals must keep up with the changing landscape of higher education to remain relevant.  Competency based education (CBE) is a development that we need to become fast friends with as we continue to support students on their paths.

A recent compilation of Inside Higher Ed articles looks at competency based education from many lenses including student affairs.  The co-curricular transcript is not a new concept for Student Affairs professionals. However, my recent draw is taking a good hard look at how we are carrying out our obligation to tell our story of the contribution to learning in ways that are meaningful. And I would argue that competency based learning should be our fast friend in this endeavor.  

At the University of Houston, we are piloting a program this spring (2016) to assist students in articulating what they can do and how their experiences are shaping who they are becoming. What is your campus doing to look at competency based education? 

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