December 2014 What is Direct Assessment Definitions Historical perspective midwifery educators are innovators Successful models Federal higher education regulations Thoughts on MEAC accreditation of DA programs ID: 1009564
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1. What is Direct Assessment?December, 2014
2. What is Direct Assessment?Definitions Historical perspective: midwifery educators are innovatorsSuccessful models Federal higher education regulations Thoughts on MEAC accreditation of DA programs
3. Definitions
4. What is direct assessment? It is a form of competency based education (CBE).
5. What is CBE? No commonly accepted definitions – and many are using terms interchangeably
6. What is CBE?
7. Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) Emphasis is on learning acquired rather than seat timeClear expectations for what graduates must know and be able to do Students able to learn and earn a degree at their own pace.Students able to build on what they already know to obtain a post-secondary credential.
8. Johnstone and Soares, 2014 “A reorientation of the educational process toward demonstrated mastery and the application of skills in the real world.” “CBE’s greatest strength is that it provides a means for helping quality and affordability co-exist in higher education.”
9. What sets direct assessment programs apart from CBE programs? Direct Assessment programs depart from credit or clock hours to rely solely on the attainment and assessment of defined competencies.
10. Midwifery educators are innovators
11. Why does this sound so familiar? Midwifery educators have been doing a form of CBE since the 1970’s…
12. CPMs develop core competencies Following the precedent set by ACNM, direct-entry midwifery educators began meeting to define core competencies in the 1980s. Since then, all accredited schools have been required to link their curriculum and student assessment to the competencies. As a result, the model being called “innovative” in higher education now is found in all of the MEAC accredited schools
13. Successful Models/Emerging Best Practices
14. Principles for Developing Competency-Based Education Programs Change Magazine, 2014 1. Degree reflects robust and valid competencies. 2. Students are able to learn at a variable pace and are supported in their learning. 3. Effective learning resources are available to students anytime and are reusable. 4. The process for mapping competencies to courses/learning outcomes/assessments is explicit. 5. The assessments are secure and reliable.
15. Successful models CBE DA – USDE approved Western Governor’s University Excelsior CollegeNorthern Arizona University’s Personalized Learning Southern New Hampshire University’s College for AmericaCapella University’s FlexpathUniversity of Wisconsin
16. Category #1: CBE CBE Path of least resistance Western Governor’s University Excelsior CollegeNorthern Arizona University’s Personalized Learning Institutions translate competencies defined at the program level into topics that can be formulated into courses of the appropriate length and complexity.
17. Western Governor’s UniversityEstablished a one-to-one equivalency between competency units and credit hoursStudent considered full time if enrolled in minimum of 12 competency unitsStudents either pass or fail to pass a competency by the end of the termTwo 6-month terms per academic year
18. Category #2: DA DA Require both accreditor and USDE approvalSouthern New Hampshire University’s College for AmericaCapella University’s FlexpathUniversity of Wisconsin 100% untethered from course material and credit hour, learners demonstrate competencies at their own pace (typically online)To date, only three have been formally approved by accrediting bodies and the USDE for Title IV financial aid.
19. SNHU: College for America Like WGU, they have established an equivalency between competencies and credit hours, but at a 2:1 ratio, rather than a 1:1 ratio. Defined the length of the program – five termsStudents defined as full time if they achieve 24 competencies in a term; half time if they achieve 12.Two 6-month terms in an academic year, but a new 6-month term begins each month so student’s start dates can vary, depending on when they decide to enrollDo not track GPA or assign grades to the achievement of competencies.Measure satisfactory academic progress using pace only. Developed their own way of tracking the number of competencies are being achieved each term.
20. Federal Regulations
21. What is possible under the federal regs? Programs may be organized around traditional credit or clock hours that students must earn to complete their program (CBE) or may depart from credit or clock hours to rely solely on the attainment of defined competencies (DA)
22. What is possible under the federal regs? Programs must either be 100% fully course and credit hour based OR 100% direct assessment. (no hybrid)
23. What about Title IV regs? The delivery system for disbursing Title IV funds was constructed around a single dimension: time
24. What about Title IV Regs? Definition of an academic year: a minimum number of weeks of instruction during which a full-time student is expected to complete a minimum number of credit hours. This definition forms the basis of two critical aspects of the delivery of Title IV aid to students: a student’s payment period, and enrollment status.
25. What about Title IV regs? Students do not receive their Title IV funds all at once but in periodic disbursements during the academic year. Title IV payment periods correspond to academic terms.
26. What about Title IV regs? Title IV awards determined by student’s enrollment statusStudent loan borrowers must be enrolled at least half timeFull time status = minimum of 12 credit hours per semester
27. What about Title IV regs? Students enrolled in competency-based programs that measure student progress in credit hours—or in a way that is easily mapped to credit hours—can and do receive Title IV assistance. But programs that use other means to measure academic progression—direct assessments, portfolio reviews, examinations, and the like—are a different story.
28. What about Title IV Regs?“Fundamentally, federal student aid is designed to fund education that occurs within structured, discrete time periods. Conversely, CBE is unstructured, by its very nature, and does not depend on time periods to help determine if learning has taken place.” Porter, 2014
29. Some challenging questions to consider in developing DA programsDirect Assessment students enroll in and complete competencies rather than credit-hour based course. Should enrollment status (full time/part time) for these students be determined by the number of competencies enrolled in or completed?
30. Some challenging questions to consider in developing DA programsUnlike courses, competencies lack designated start and end dates. How can federal student aid that depends on clearly defined academic terms be disbursed to students?
31. Some challenging questions to consider in developing DA programsWhat does “satisfactory academic progress” mean in the absence of GPA given that competencies are either earned or not earned? How can adequate progress over time be determined when it is not clear how much time is necessary to complete a competency?
32. Thoughts on MEAC accreditation of Direct Assessment Programs
33. Standards that may be impactedStandard I Mission, Program GoalsDoes the institution have clearly defined mission and goals supporting its direct assessment program?
34. Standards that may be impactedStandard II Curricula MEAC already provides a very detailed curriculum checklistHow programs do assessment is paramount to success of direct assessment programs
35. Standards that may be impactedStandard III FacultyAcknowledge the changing role of faculty – mentors, module developers, assessors How is faculty trained and qualified to perform these various roles?
36. Standards that may be impactedStandard IV Facilities, Equipment, Supplies and Other Resources Acknowledge the need for learning resources that are available at any time and are re-useable
37. Standards that may be impactedStandard VI Student Services Development of virtual or in-person learning communitiesProvide guidance to students to succeed in these programsSupport to students who don’t succeed – how to transition to traditional program?
38. Standards that may be impactedStandard VII Student AffairsAcademic PoliciesSatisfactory Academic ProgressAcademic discipline/probation/suspension
39. Thank you!Questions?