The traditional college pathway requires four years worth of time, effort and classes. There are a variety of different ways to earn a college degree outside of a four year university, and one of the most popular and effective ways is enrolling in community colleges. Recently, eight community colleges in California have decided to implement a new model of education they are calling a “competency-based education.” Students would take sixty or so exams on different subjects to determine if they are qualified for their degree and there are no required lectures. Although this approach is a quicker method to attain a college degree, it might not be as valid. Colleges should not hand out degrees to students based on a few tests and it diminishes the intricate learning process that usually takes place when one pursues a college degree.
This new policy being tested out is vastly different from what has been the norm across community colleges thus far. With no grades, deadlines and lectures, “competency-based education” is geared towards adults who are already a part of the workforce and acknowledges previous experience in their field. The program is well-intentioned, but overlooks the importance of fostering a teacher-student relationship in the learning process as it cuts out the most time consuming portion of the college experience: lectures. Lectures serve as the main point of contact between a student and professor which can blossom into mentorship and extra guidance for the student. This relationship enriches the students’ education and provides them with more benefits than learning by themselves because professors possess more experience and mastery in their field of study.
Student-teacher relationships not only benefit the student, they benefit the professors as well. Professors have spent countless hours studying, researching and teaching their passion. Taking away lectures robs the professors of the main facet of their occupation, rendering them useless, which is disrespectful to their careers. In addition, teachers’ pay could be affected due to them not having as strong a role in the students’ education. The possibility of decreased pay for teachers is a dangerous move if this program is implemented nationwide.
The program’s biggest change is the time students allocate to learning in school. According to a Harvard Gazette study, students showed they learned a lot from lectures with active learning elements. When students engage with professors there is room for academic growth and new ideas, and the traditional college lecture is the main avenue for student-teacher engagement. With this new lectureless program, the benefits may seem promising, but learning from teachers is a necessary resource and shouldn’t be replaced. This program merely speeds up the college process instead of letting education take its regular course.
Another important aspect of the full college experience is engaging with the community. Making new friends, participating in clubs and events and on-campus engagement is nonexistent if the new program eliminates students’ reason to be on campus. Research reports that employers rated students involved in more extracurricular activities as more hirable because they had gained valuable skills and experiences in organizations and roles that better prepared them for a career. These skills, such as communication, team work, critical thinking, professionalism and leadership, can be strengthened and refined through increased college campus involvement.
Despite the drawbacks, this program could be beneficial to adults who already have work experience as well as students who don’t have the time to dedicate to on-campus lectures, such as for financial reasons. This indicates colleges should implement the “competency-based model” in a moderated fashion. Teaching oneself is efficient, but more is taught and communicated through in-person lectures and active engagement with instructors. Although the tests might indicate proficiency with certain skill sets, there is a lot that could be lost in translation. Implementing a modified model that incorporates some active learning in a classroom with students and teachers as well as independent study time would create a more balanced learning process. These students, regardless of circumstance, deserve the opportunity to benefit from a professor or teacher’s knowledge. Students can still earn their degree faster with less lectures instead of completely eliminating them all together.
