
Empowered Learning™
Take Control of Your Learning
Empowered Learning™ at Rasmussen University puts you in the driver’s seat for your online Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral courses. That means you use your professional and life experience to demonstrate some skills faster, and slow down to work with new material. Empowered Learning™ prepares you for the future by ensuring you master each skill needed to flourish in the workplace.
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"It really focuses on doing rather than knowing. Our assessment philosophy is, ‘Prove you can do it,’ because that’s really what competency means."
Adam S.
Rasmussen University Faculty Innovation Manager
What’s Great About Empowered Learning™?
Empowered Learning™
With Empowered Learning™, you show what you know—at your pace—and stay connected with faculty and peers throughout the course.
What Do Empowered Learning™ Courses Look Like?
Each course requires you to complete six projects—aligned with specific employer-approved skills—and a seventh final project that combines everything you’ve learned. You’ll use these course projects to create a portfolio that shows what you can do.
Demo
You’re not limited to a desk with Empowered Learning. Get an inside look at our innovative platform.
Empowered Learning™ Course Example
Each project below is aligned with a specific skill or knowledge area, also known as a “competency,” that is essential to your degree and career. The entire course is built around one real-world scenario, and builds from one project to the next. In an actual project, you would have a detailed grading guideline called a “rubric” for each project.
Course Name: Leadership and Teams
Scenario: As a leader, you’ve been tasked with building a new team.
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1. Roles and Behaviors of Teams
Competency
Evaluate the roles and behaviors of teams in organizational settings.
Deliverable
Provide a two-page report outlining what habits and responsibilities make for a successful team.
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2. Team Performance and Productivity
Competency
Examine variables, conditions and concepts that influence team performance productivity.
Deliverable
Provide a table of recommendations and methods to improve the productivity of the team in your scenario.
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3. Rewarding and Compensating Teams
Competency
Evaluate methods and systems for rewarding and compensating teams.
Deliverable
Provide a two-page report summarizing how teams within your scenario are compensated, and the reasons for this compensation model.
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4. Building an Effective Team
Competency
Analyze the interpersonal process and structural characteristics that influence team effectiveness.
Deliverable
Create a presentation on what to consider when building your scenario team: internal and external dynamics, diversity, coaching, leadership and more.
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5. Effective Team Communication
Competency
Examine team member communication, collaboration and strategies for developing team intelligence.
Deliverable
Provide a one-page report on your scenario team’s communication challenges and strategies to resolve conflict.
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6. Leading a High-Performing Team
Competency
Analyze leadership roles, techniques and challenges in leading teams.
Deliverable
Provide a one-page report on what makes for an effective leader and the best strategy to lead your scenario team.
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7. FINAL PROJECT: Leading an Effective Team
Competency
Combine everything you have learned in the six projects above.
Deliverable
Create a presentation for your scenario organization for a new performance evaluation system, including best practices, challenges and solutions.
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“The flexibility was very essential to being able to fit in personal life, while also working full time, 40 hours a week. I would not have been able to earn this degree if it weren’t for Empowered Learning.”
Alicia D.
Graduate, Master of Human Resources Management, and Rasmussen University Staff Member
Empowered Learning™ Programs
We’re not new to this innovative approach. As a founding member of C-BEN (Competency-Based Education Network), Rasmussen University is a national leader in the field.
See which of our Bachelor's, Master's and Doctoral programs are 100% Empowered Learning™:
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Bachelor's Degree Programs
Business
Design
Education
Health Sciences
Nursing
- Master's Degree Programs
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Doctoral Degree Programs
Health Sciences
Nursing
Take the Next Step—Talk to Us!
What is Competency-Based Education?
Empowered Learning™ is our term for competency-based education (CBE). See the answers to other common questions students have about this innovative learning approach and why it’s gaining popularity.
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“Empowered Learning™ taught me how to manage my time. It made me more comfortable to create things on my own. It makes you realize everyone should be doing this. It’s a no-brainer.”
Jorge B.
Accounting Bachelor’s Degree Graduate