Architecture for Innovation Summit:  Scaling Competency-Based Education and Digital Credential Programs

Thursday - 5 November

Summit Goals:

• Define a roadmap to remove technical and interoperability barriers to accelerating and scaling CBE and digital credentialing.
• Showcase innovations in academic and co-curricular digital credentials.
• Establish a shared understanding of a digital credential currency framework.

7:30 - 8:30 am

Registration & Continental Breakfast

8:30 - 9:00 am

Welcome / Opening 1EdTech Remarks
Rob Abel, 1EdTech Consortium

9:00 - 9:30 am

Competency-Based Education – Opportunities and Challenges
Laurie Dodge, Co-Chair Competency Based Education Network, Vice Chancellor, Brandman University

Competency-Based Education is a transformative education model that shifts emphasis from credit hour “seat time” to a students’ demonstration of acquired knowledge and skills. There is a call to action for post-secondary credentials that are affordable, accessible, and of high quality. Employers want graduates with relevant work-ready skills for today and for the future. Students are asking for the ROI of post-secondary credentials with questions “What will I learn?” “How will I show what I have learned?” and “What can I do with my learning?” Brandman University and its peer institutions in the Competency-Based Education Network (C-BEN) are at the center of this important mission, preparing learners for a 21st century economy. However, there are significant policy and operational challenges facing institutions and administrators implementing CBE, with a critical gap existing in the area of technology supports for CBE. 1EdTech and C-BEN are at the forefront of efforts to address these gaps, working with software providers to upgrade their products and ensure they work together seamlessly. Dr. Dodge will present a strategic review of key issues with CBE growth and she will challenge the vendor community to provide innovative and connected solutions.

9:30 - 10:15 am

Framework for Assessing Outcomes and Competencies to Improve Learning Impact
Moderator: Jeff Grann, Capella University
Panelists: Natasha Jankowski, Ph.D. Associate Director, National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment; Krissy Jones, Ph.D. Director of Performance-Based Programs, City University of Seattle; Phillip Long, Ph.D. Associate Vice Provost for Learning Sciences, University of Texas at Austin; Katie McClarty, Ph.D. Director, Center for College & Career Success, Pearson

The measurement, documentation, and communication of student-level learning lies at the heart of education’s value proposition. Yet fragmented nomenclature, reified regulatory & policy decisions, and immature data exchanges limit students from connecting their educational experience with their career goals. This panel envisions key steps toward a unifying framework for assessing outcomes and competencies to improve learning impact.

Open Badges: A Bold New Initiative to Attract, Engage, and Progress Talent
David Leaser, IBM

Overview of an innovative and successful commercial nano-credential program using analytics and open badges to nurture and significantly progress talent, that merges earned credentials with social media to recognize achievements.

Colorado Community College System (CCCS) Journey Towards Digital Credentials
Brenda Perea, Colorado Community College System

Increasing numbers of micro-credentials are being issued by businesses, associations, institutions and credentialing agencies certifying learner achievement. Learn about the CCCS’s journey toward digital credentials, opening up the potential for students to differentiate themselves in the workplace as well as creating opportunities for recognizing workplace college level learning through badges.

Competency Based Education & e-Transcript Initiative:
Mark Leuba, 1EdTech; Jeff Grann, Capella University; Joellen Shendy, UMUC

Update on progress and next steps to enable CBE programs at scale.

Digital Credential Currency Framework:  Accelerating the Demand and Scale for Digital Credentials
Moderator: Carla Casilli, 1EdTech
Panelists: Rajeev Arora, Parchment; Beth Porter, edX; Andrea Deau, University of Wisconsin Extension; Jonathan Finkelstein, Credly; Pete Janzow, Pearson Acclaim

Digital Credentialing is gathering momentum across academia and industry. 1EdTech has gathered five august panelists to share their experience with digital credentials—and in particular, badges—to illuminate the challenges and opportunities presented by this new world. Their diverse perspectives will range from discussion of bridging multi-campus needs to exploring the possibilities of non-traditional learning, from expressing the value inherent in these new representations of learning to the necessity and requirements for interoperable tools and platforms.

Credential Transparency Initiative: Toward a Common Language for Credentials
Jeanne Kitchens, Associate Director of the Southern Illinois University Center for Workforce Development (CWD)

A collaboration led by George Washington University, Workcred and Southern Illinois University Center for Workforce Development, the Credential Transparency Initiative (CTI) will develop common terms for describing key features of credentials; create a voluntary, web-based registry for sharing the resulting information; and test practical apps (software applications) for employers, students, educators, and other credential stakeholders.  The Credential Registry will allow users to see what various credentials represent in terms of competencies, transfer value assessment rigor, third-party approval status, and much more. The registry will include all kinds of credentials – from educational degrees and certificates to industry certifications, occupational licenses, and micro-credentials.

Employer Viewpoints: Building a Shared Vision and ‘Feedback Loop’ for Competencies and Digital Credentials
Moderator: Tara Smith, Senior Program Manager, Jobs for the Future
Panelists: James Kurtessis, Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM); David Leaser, IBM; Roy Swift, Workcred; Matt Sigelman, Burning Glass

The value of digital credentials and competencies is determined by employers and other important stakeholders in the labor market.  This shift of emphasis requires educators to work closely with the employer community to establish clear expectations for programs and to engage in continuous feedback on results.  Through this process, students and employers can build confidence in digital credentials and, in turn, spur further growth of competency-based models. This panel discussion will focus on the roles employers can fill in the competency movement, and identify what the education community can do to support sustained employer engagement.

Wrap Up, Questions and Next Steps
Rob Abel, 1EdTech Consortium