Abstract
Competence and competency in higher education, simple terms yet with complex meanings: Theoretical and practical issues for university teachers and assessors implementing Competency-Based Education (CBE)
Highlights
This research project set out to investigate the nature of competency and competencybased learning in higher education and the key issues associated with it, in respect of assessment
The main practical findings for educators are: (i) that to implement competency-based learning in accordance with the theoretical literature, students need to be provided with very flexible assessment submission deadlines, and (ii) where the assessment of competence contributes to a student’s qualification, in order to avoid confusion and provide a common understanding within teaching and assessment teams, it is essential for educators to very carefully consider how they interpret competence, and what they understand by the term ‘mastery’ of a competency
Despite this, where the assessment of competence contributes to a student’s qualification, in order to avoid confusion and provide a common understanding within teaching and assessment teams, it is essential for educators to very carefully consider how they interpret competence, and what they understand by the term mastery of a competency, both individually, and collectively
Summary
This research project set out to investigate the nature of competency and competencybased learning in higher education and the key issues associated with it, in respect of assessment. This paper explores some of the perspectives in the literature on competence and competency and the implications for assessment practices, so that educators may critically reflect on their interpretation and develop a more informed and nuanced understanding Through doing so, they will be better able to make their own distinctions and decisions about how they may be defined and assessed in the curricula they are responsible for, ensuring the practicable development of equitable and authentic assessment processes in new programmes of CBE. In response to the demands of employers and the global graduate employment market, CBE has, firmly established itself, with many UK, European and American universities, increasingly introducing competency-based programmes and competency-based models of teaching and assessment across a wide range of disciplines (Rasmussen et al, 2017, Sorensen Irvine, & Kevan, 2017). As Wagenaar (2014, p. 294) argues, “Day to day practice shows that many academics (still) have difficulties in distinguishing the concepts of competenc(i)es”
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