The increasing need for highly-skilled employees in the workplace has policymakers and higher education leaders focused on innovative ways for students to access postsecondary education. These access points can include online programs, prior learning assessments and, the subject of this snapshot, competency-based education. The National Center for…

Utah's public technical colleges offer vocational certificate programs at a low cost to students, as required by statute. Certificates are accredited by the Council on Occupational Education and provide students with competencies necessary for entry into gainful employment. The ability of students to attain marketable skills at a low cost and in a…

In partnership with the ECMC Foundation, Jobs for the Future is leading an effort to explore how postsecondary competency-based education models can be adapted to better serve underprepared adult learners. JFF kicked off this initiative with a convening of educators, policymakers, and researchers, the results of which are captured in this paper.…

Despite a highly developed U.S. adult education system, 90% of adults aged 20 years and older considered the least educated did not participate recently in formal or nonformal education. What are nonparticipants' characteristics, learning backgrounds, and skill levels? What predicts their likelihood of "not" participating in recent…

My dissertation research investigated an adult learner's experience in an online competency-based education (CBE) bachelor's degree program. The purpose of my study was to understand how CBE was transforming the practices of traditional post-secondary education and how CBE was serving the needs of students, particularly nontraditional adult…

A music fundamentals instructor teaches music literacy, core musicianship skills, the harmonic and melodic principles, and assesses the overall musical competency of students. Many instructors take pedagogy courses while either an undergraduate or graduate student that might prepare them for classroom teaching. However, not all pedagogy courses…

As the overwhelming majority of those in U.S. prisons will rejoin society, it is imperative to prepare individuals to transition with effective rehabilitative programs. This paper analyzes the 2012/2014 U.S. Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) data because literacy and numeracy skills are designated as the key…

The 46th annual conference of the Adult and Higher Education Alliance (AHEA) was held online in March 2022. This year's conference theme is "Adult Education for the Human Condition: Global Issues and Trauma-Informed Learning." The proceedings are comprised of the following papers: (1) Man-Environment Interaction in the Rainforests and…

Mathematics competency continues to limit the success of many students and prevents their completion of a postsecondary degree, which ultimately prevents access to education, jobs, and upward social mobility. Furthermore, many postsecondary institutions admit students who do not meet the institution's mathematics proficiency requirements and then…

This article argues that the model of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) in use at the Workers' College in South Africa may be seen as a form of "radical pedagogy." Drawing on documentary sources, focus group interviews with staff, and observations, it describes an educational philosophy which aims to build the competencies of activists…

The Commission on International Adult Education (CIAE) of the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE) provides a forum for the discussion of international issues related to adult education in general, as well as adult education in various countries around the globe. The following purposes summarize the work of the…

One of the major challenges facing Africa today is ensuring that extension practitioners are well trained to enable them function effectively as facilitators of change at the farmers' level. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a mid-career B. Sc. Agricultural Extension Curriculum in meeting the educational needs of…

In a historic unanimous vote on May 20, 2015, the Rhode Island Council on Postsecondary Education welcomed College Unbound as a degree-granting postsecondary option in the state, designed to serve the more than 110,000 Rhode Island adults who began but did not complete bachelor's degrees. The college is the adult-learning initiative of Big Picture…

At present there is no curriculum to guide physician lifelong learning in a prescribed, deliberate manner. The Conjoint Committee on Continuing Medical Education, a group representing 16 major stakeholder organizations in continuing medical education, recommends that each specialty society and corresponding board reach consensus on the…

The purpose of this case study was to explore how low-skilled workers who participated in a health care training program learned to acquire the technical, cognitive, and developmental competencies they needed to gain skilled employment in higher-level positions in the field and thus advance their careers. The data methods used were: (1) in-depth…