A 'disruptive' look at competency-based education: how the innovative use of technology will transform the college experience

Mozilla's Open Badges Initiative and MITx - the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's cutting-edge initiative offering free, high-quality college courses online - have put a public spotlight on alternative ways to deliver postsecondary education that not only document whether a student has achieved a level of competence but also validate the learning that's occurred. These two innovative education models differ from traditional education by focusing strictly on the demonstration of competency regardless of how long it took a student to gain that competency. The question, of course, is whether these innovative learning initiatives and others like them can truly disrupt the current model of postsecondary education - a model that relies on time-based measures to structure and fund learning experiences. The answer to that question lies in whether or not competency-based education can be effectively taken to scale.

One approach to the question - which is the focus of this brief - is through the lens of 'disruptive innovation,' a business theory that considers how technology can change an organization, sector, or industry. The first section of this brief provides a short primer on competency-based education in postsecondary education. Next [the author] introduces the four elements of disruptive innovation theory and uses these elements as a guide to study education initiatives that could promote disruptive innovation. Lastly, [the author] outlines a number of recommendations for policymakers on how to facilitate disruptive innovation to transform higher education.

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