From Concept to Impact: Bringing a Competency-Based Education Program to Life at Coastline College

Students today want more control over how—and when—they learn. That’s why calls for flexible models like CBE are gaining momentum. After all, roughly 40% of college students are over the age of 25, often juggling work and family commitments in addition to their education and  more than 80% of teens say “learning relevant skills is a top decision factor for choosing their path after high school.” CBE offers a powerful solution that addresses both of these points head-on. 

Coastline College recognized the promise of CBE and created a vision: to implement a Competency-Based Education (CBE) program that provided the most flexibility possible for their students. But as they quickly learned, launching a CBE program requires more than just a great idea. It demands alignment across the institution, collaboration amongst departments, and a clear vision for long-term impact. 

Putting Students at the Center: A CBE Program That Aligns With Coastline’s Vision

Coastline knew that putting students at the center of their decision was the right choice, even though it added complexity and changed the conversation as it related to system support. After a thoughtful and thorough review of their options, Coastline determined that subscription-based,  direct assessment CBE offered unmatched flexibility for students when compared with other models. The challenge? It was the most disruptive form of CBE to adopt 

“Implementing CBE was really challenging at first because no other schools in the California Community College system had ever implemented a subscription-based direct assessment model to offer a degree,” said Nathaniel Harrison, Dean of Innovative Learning, Coastline College. “We kept asking each other “How do we do this?” and “Is this going to work?”

Once the decision was made to implement Pace+, the college’s direct assessment, subscription-model CBE, the college engaged key stakeholders from across various departments. This was a critical step in the process, as the implementation of Pace+ impacted multiple departments across campus. From decisions about curriculum design and technology infrastructure to the ways in which Coastline would support students and measure success, the Pace+ initiative required input, buy-in, and support from stakeholders. Through collaboration and communication, the team worked across departments to ensure everyone understood what the project was, how it impacted their department as well as the students they serve, and what role they played in ensuring its success. 

A Best-of-Breed Approach to Support Financial Aid for CBE

Another important consideration for the project was financial aid support. After all, in order to support Pace+, they needed a financial aid management solution (FAM) that could handle the complexity and automation needed to support a new CBE program, without adding additional burden to the existing financial aid staff. After evaluating various solution options, including Coastline’s existing financial aid management solution, it became clear that Regent Award was the only FAM that delivered the flexibility and functionality needed to support Coastline’s Pace+ CBE program. 

Regent Award is a cloud-based, holistic suite of financial aid management solutions that automates the packaging and repackaging of financial aid for CBE programs across standard and non-standard terms, subscription periods, and non-term enrollment models. Using Regent Award, institutions can grow enrollment, reduce manual effort, and deliver the flexibility students expect.   

Coastline College partnered with Regent Education to implement Regent Award for its Pace+ CBE program, and the solution went live earlier this year. In addition, Coastline hired Shelly Blair, PhD of Educated Guess Consulting to manage the project. The project was complex and required tight collaboration and coordination across financial aid, enrollment services, and IT. Throughout the project, Shelly interfaced directly with the Coastline team and the Regent Education team to ensure the teams remained flexible and the implementation remained on track, even when Coastline needed to adjust their deadlines.

3 Tips for CBE Success

Rolling out a CBE program like Pace+ is daunting. But with the right approach, you can set the stage for success. Here are 3 tips from Coastline to help you stay on track. 

• When it comes to financial aid, you have options: Find a robust, integrated FAM that provides all the capabilities you need to support your CBE program, even if that means exploring best-of-breed solutions outside of your current ERP provider. 

• Early engagement creates lasting buy-in: Involving your stakeholders early in the process ensures that they are aware of what’s happening and how it impacts their work on campus. This engagement is critical as new programs like Coastline’s Pace+ impacted departments across the college. 
• Teamwork makes the dream work: Establishing the right team is another critical step towards a successful rollout of CBE. At Coastline, a strong partnership between college staff, Shelly Blair of Educated Guess Consulting, and the team at Regent Education was key to remaining focused and on-track, even when challenges arose. 

In the future, Coastline aspires to extend its CBE model to additional programs and degrees to meet student demands for greater flexibility in how they pursue their education.  

Thinking about implementing a CBE program but unsure if your current FAM can handle the complexity? Let’s talk!  And if you need help managing your CBE project, reach out to Educated Guess Consulting to learn how they can help.