The CBE and PLA Playbook

Tool 1: Glossary of CBE Terms defines competency-based education, clarifies pedagogical terminology, and helps members understand the different components of CBE and methods that can be implemented without a full CBE program launch.

Tool 2: Comparison Chart of Key CBE Programs lists key features of a select list of fully operational CBE programs.

Tool 3: Federal Financial Aid Policy FAQs provide a primer on federal policies and common regulatory challenges institutions face when considering or implementing competency-based education programs.

Tool 4: CBE Readiness Diagnostic helps institutions assess whether their available funding, existing infrastructure, experience with different instructional delivery models, and campus culture will support or hinder the development of a new CBE program.

Tool 5: CBE Program Development Road Map outlines a plan for realistic timing for a new CBE program launch based on lessons learned from early movers while providing online resources and implementation guidance at each step.

Tool 6: CBE Program Selection Guide compares five different CBE credential types according to the up-front investment required and alignment with student success outcomes. It also provides a set of discussion questions to guide campus conversations about which degree is the best fit for each unique institution.

Tool 7: Model CBE Business Case consists of a series of tables and examples that will guide users through consideration of the key factors that should inform decisions about whether or not to pilot a CBE program.

Tool 8: CBE Vendor Quick Reference Guide provides a snapshot of vendors marketing services to CBE programs, facilitating easy comparison of key vendor features.

Tool 9: Sample CBE Job Descriptions provides selected job descriptions from existing CBE programs that use one or more facets of an unbundled faculty model.

Tool 10: Success Coach Investment Estimator provides a formula and worksheets to help institutions estimate the financial impact of success coaches on CBE program costs.

Tool 11: Student Screening Resources provide templates and guidance to help members develop their own processes for selecting students who are a good fit for CBE and self-paced programs.

Tool 12: Success Coach Communication Manual presents a suite of communication guides, scripting, and templates compiled from practitioners working in the field.

Tool 13: Time Management Worksheets provide members with templates for helping students balance work, home, and school responsibilities while progressing in self-paced courses.

Tool 14: Success Coach Intervention Guide helps members develop a protocol for triaging administrative, academic, and financial obstacles students may encounter in a CBE or self-paced program.

Tool 15: Prior Learning Primer provides a resource for quickly educating campus stakeholders that clarifies prior learning terms, draws distinctions between different methods of assessing prior learning, and introduces the main organizations offering PLA assessment or implementation support.

Tool 16: PLA Portfolio Process and Risk Maps walks through a streamlined portfolio review process, identifying key campus stakeholders involved at each step of the way, while alerting administrators, faculty, and staff to the most common obstacles students encounter during PLA portfolio assessment.

Tool 17: Sample PLA Organizational Models helps members determine optimal staffing levels for a PLA program, laying out two different types of organization: one for small-scale, decentralized programs and one for large-scale, centralized programs.

Tool 18: PLA Policy Builder helps institutions develop or overhaul their PLA policies by laying out the essential components of an effective policy and providing resources for existing PLA standards.

Tool 19: PLA Stakeholder Communication Manual identifies commonly asked questions about PLA from both students and faculty, offering sample scripting and advice for answering these questions.

Tool 20: Faculty Assessor Training Curriculum outlines a sample curriculum featuring common topics covered during faculty assessor training and suggestions for using training to build faculty support for PLA.

Tool 21: PLA Landing Page Template provides an example of a clear and easy-to-navigate PLA webpage for students to help members communicate PLA options more effectively and increase participation in PLA programs.