A revolution is coming to some California community colleges: no more grades, no more deadlines and no more mandatory attendance.
In this new education model being piloted at eight campuses across the state, including Southwestern College in Chula Vista, the only thing students will be evaluated on is their competency.
“Competency-based education allows students to complete programs on their own time," said Randy Beach, faculty curriculum committee chair.
The program, which launched in 2021, is providing each participating campus with up to $500,000 over the course of four years to design their own associate degree program.
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At Southwestern College, they're doing an Auto Tech degree.
“We’re really designing something that's more intended for people that don’t have time to sit in a classroom but are willing to put in the time to work online, distance education modules,” said Beach. “That they are willing to do that and then come in from time to time to demonstrate what they can do.”
Currently, a student is required to take 14 semester-long classes for that same degree, adding up to at least two years in school. Through this new program students who learn the material will be able to test out of classes.
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“It's sort of like Netflix,” said Brian Palmiter, program coordinator for Southwestern College Automotive Department. “You pay a fee and if you want to binge-watch on the weekends, if you want to binge-learn, you can do that.”
The goal is to launch the program by next fall but there is still a lot of work to make the new system happen.
“Staffing needs both in terms of faculty and student support are great,” said Beach.
The college is also working to find a way to adapt general education requirements to the program and design a financial aid plan for students.
“It's definitely been a large project,” said Palmiter.
But at least for now, they are confident they’ll make it happen. Hoping to innovate the education model for future programs and generations.
“[We are] really excited to see how this is going to go,” said Palmiter.
