Pet peeves on use of terminology

[sanantone]

I've long learned that when a school says that a program is competency-based, it doesn't always mean that it's similar to WGU. It could mean that the program has a list of competencies they expect graduates to have mastered by the end of the program. I still get annoyed when schools say that students can work at their own pace when they really mean the courses are asynchronous. There are still deadlines for tests and assignments. Merrimack College's website states that their online programs are competency-based, students can work at their own pace, and that students can progress faster through concepts they already know. So, I'm thinking this is more of a self-paced program in which you can master a course and move on to another; tuition is just charged by the credit hour instead of a flat rate. 

I talked to a representative, and this is just a typical online program. There are 8-week terms, assignments have deadlines, what they mean by competency-based is that the courses are project-based instead of textbook-based or lecture-based, and the only way to move through the program faster is to take more credits per term. He also said that students can complete assignments whenever they want as long as they get them in by the deadline. That's the way it is in almost every online program. Even when I was taking doctoral courses on campus, I was working on assignments morning, afternoon, and night. 

I wish there was more standardization in terminology. Just because a student doesn't have to attend class at a certain time doesn't mean they can complete the course at their own pace. Having weekly deadlines is no different from how courses work in traditional programs. The term "competency-based" should be reserved for programs like the ones at WGU, Walden Tempo, UMPI YourPace, Capella Flexpath, NAU Personalized Learning, UMass Global MyPath, Purdue Global ExcelTrack, Rasmussen Empowered Learning, University of Wisconsin Flexible Option, etc.

[LevelUP]

Capella Flexpath said they have a competency-based program, but it doesn't work like WGU.

First of all, based on reports here and elsewhere, it is more a bait and switch scheme where you apply to their competency-based program, and they will tell you 90%+ of the time you don't qualify for that program. They must pay thousands of dollars for their regular program before they even consider you for their competency-based program.

Second each course, there are like 5 milestones, and for each milestone, you have to do one at a time and then wait for it to be graded, which can take 5 days for each grade—no way to quickly accelerate through the program.

College is a game of cat and mouse.

People need to do their research and quickly get through college before they change the rules of the game.

[jsd]

I hadn't heard that Capella steers people into the course based classes. Interesting.

[Alpha]

...I wish there was more standardization in terminology... 

I do too.  Perhaps that would be something for the accreditors to attend to but regardless of that, it's always good to read the glossary.

[sanantone]

...I wish there was more standardization in terminology... 

I do too.  Perhaps that would be something for the accreditors to attend to but regardless of that, it's always good to read the glossary.

That's if a glossary of academic terms exists, which it oftentimes doesn't. When it does exist, they're usually not going to define "go at your own pace."

[Alpha]

...I wish there was more standardization in terminology... 

I do too.  Perhaps that would be something for the accreditors to attend to but regardless of that, it's always good to read the glossary.

That's if a glossary of academic terms exists, which it oftentimes doesn't. When it does exist, they're usually not going to define "go at your own pace."

Yes, I wasn't speaking literally.  I meant that one should know the definitions of the terms as they are being used.  As you know, sometimes you have to dig a bit in order to develop that understanding.  As for the whole "go at your own pace" idea, my experience has been that "self-paced" typically mean "accelerated."  As someone who has sometimes wanted to slow things down I would say that's a misnomer.

[sanantone]

...I wish there was more standardization in terminology... 

I do too.  Perhaps that would be something for the accreditors to attend to but regardless of that, it's always good to read the glossary.

That's if a glossary of academic terms exists, which it oftentimes doesn't. When it does exist, they're usually not going to define "go at your own pace."

Yes, I wasn't speaking literally.  I meant that one should know the definitions of the terms as they are being used.  As you know, sometimes you have to dig a bit in order to develop that understanding.  As for the whole "go at your own pace" idea, my experience has been that "self-paced" typically mean "accelerated."  As someone who has sometimes wanted to slow things down I would say that's a misnomer.

Yeah, it means speed up or slow down. At Merrimack, they believe that the ability to take more or fewer credits makes their program special. You have to ask the program director to take more than the maximum credit limit, which is something that's already done at traditional colleges.

[ss20ts]

I've learned that I have to ask VERY specific questions when a college says it's competency based or your own pace. 99% of the time it's asynchronous with weekly deadlines and NOT a CBE program at all.

[Alpha]

Yes, the language matters.  The worst part is that most people haven't learned all this as many on this site have learned.  Most people don't really understand the distinctions or even that these are potential factors that could influence their experience/outcome.

[Pats20]

...I wish there was more standardization in terminology... 

I do too.  Perhaps that would be something for the accreditors to attend to but regardless of that, it's always good to read the glossary.

That's if a glossary of academic terms exists, which it oftentimes doesn't. When it does exist, they're usually not going to define "go at your own pace."

Yes, I wasn't speaking literally.  I meant that one should know the definitions of the terms as they are being used.  As you know, sometimes you have to dig a bit in order to develop that understanding.  As for the whole "go at your own pace" idea, my experience has been that "self-paced" typically mean "accelerated."  As someone who has sometimes wanted to slow things down I would say that's a misnomer.

Yeah, it means speed up or slow down. At Merrimack, they believe that the ability to take more or fewer credits makes their program special. You have to ask the program director to take more than the maximum credit limit, which is something that's already done at traditional colleges.

I don’t know anything about this college but I would say they probably “believe “ what makes them special is their student satisfaction. With a 75% graduation rate and a retention of 85% puts them in pretty good company.