Madera Community College was recently selected to implement Competency-Based Education (CBE). In the traditional education model, students earn credits based on a fixed amount of time in a classroom. Competency-based education allows students to earn credits based on mastery of skill. CBE is ideal for adults with life and work experience that enable them to prove mastery of skills.
The first CBE program to be offered at Madera Community College will be Business Administration. The initiative will kick off June 11 with a statewide CBE Collaborative Meeting.
Madera Community College is one of eight California community colleges chosen by the California Community College’s Chancellor’s Office. Selected colleges include:
“Many people in our community have work experience that should count toward earning college credits. Competency-based education allows students to apply their life experience instead of backing up and sitting through courses that repeat what they have already mastered,” said Dr. Ángel Reyna, president, Madera Community College. “We are excited to build an option that will allow many in our community to earn a college degree and advance in their career.”
One of the measures used to select colleges was “a commitment to serving adult learners and students from marginalized communities through innovative practices and a proven dedication to eliminating opportunity gaps.”
A total of $515,000 will be available for implementation and is contingent on meeting key milestones during each phase of the project. The initiative will take place over the course of 4 years.
According to the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, “The ultimate goal of this effort is to provide access to degree programs that lead to wage gains and are offered in a flexible, adaptive and innovative modality for students deemed to be ‘nontraditional learners’ – adult learners and students with some college, no degree.”
