Rasmussen College Selected to Join the Competency-Based Education Network

Minneapolis (March 3, 2015)–Rasmussen College, a regionally accredited private college and Public Benefit Corporation, was recently selected to join the Competency-Based Education Network’s (C-BEN) new cohort of member institutions. Supported by the Lumina Foundation and managed by Public Agenda, C-BEN is comprised of 30 institutions and four public systems from across the country. The network, which focuses on addressing the challenges of designing, developing and scaling high-quality, competency-based degree programs, welcomed Rasmussen College in February 2015 along with 12 other higher education institutions and two public systems. The national group will meet with its new members for the first time during a three-day working session March 3-5 in Austin, Texas.

“Since launching Flex Choice, the competency-based education learning model at Rasmussen College, in May 2014, the College has been focused on finding ways to be a key contributor to the national conversation around competency-based education,” said Dr. Trenda Boyum-Breen, chief academic officer and incoming president at Rasmussen College. “We believe higher education institutions, like Rasmussen College, have a responsibility to find innovative ways to deliver and support education for students who are not well served by traditional academic instruction. We feel competency-based education is one way colleges and universities can provide accessible and affordable options for students to obtain workforce-relevant credentials and skills. We’re thrilled and honored to be selected to join efforts with such high-caliber institutions and public systems to rethink and make real change in higher education.”

About the Competency-Based Education Network and its Continued Focus

Changing student populations and calls for affordability and innovation in higher education have motivated colleges and universities to develop competency-based degree programs. Since late 2012, more than 200 institutions have expressed interest in developing or implementing competency-based degree programs. C-BEN formed a year ago in response to clear demand from colleges and universities that had started building competency-based education models. Today, these leading institutions are working collaboratively to accelerate progress on shared challenges around program design, course integrity, business processes and systems, and vendor relations in order to build scalable models capable of serving more students from all backgrounds.

In a press release issued on Feb. 10, C-BEN said the addition of its new member institutions, including Rasmussen College, “strengthens the network, allowing more work to be done in areas such as defining quality program outcomes and learning assessment, understanding which students are likely to benefit from emerging models and establishing standards for back-office processes and systems affecting registrars, financial aid officers and commercial vendors.”

“We are thrilled with the continuing interest in our network’s work and competency-based education,” said Laurie Dodge, C-BEN chairwoman. “This new group, as well as institutions already involved, is dedicated to accelerating model development in ways that also help inform the field.”

To learn more about C-BEN, visit www.cbenetwork.org.