Working together, we developed an authentic learning assessment that exposed to NECB learners the skills and competencies required of a loan officer and gave educators insight into how students could transfer their knowledge to a real-world application.
BOSTON (PRWEB) February 16, 2017
New England College of Business (NECB) is pleased to announce that its collaboration with Authess has been recognized by the US Department of Education as a model implementation of technology in Higher Education. Ted Mitchell, former Undersecretary of Education under President Barack Obama, on Jan. 19, 2017 announced the report, “Reimagining the Role of Technology in Higher Education, A Supplement to the National Education Technology Plan,” which represents a shared vision and call to action for transformational learning enabled by technology while embracing themes of lifelong learning, equity, and accessibility.
In the Design Principle section of the Plan, the case study outlining NECB’s implementation of Authess’ Authentic Assessments calls out NECB’s innovative use of technology to create high value opportunities for learners to measure their real-world competencies:
“The college wanted to improve student engagement and ownership through more authentic assessment. In 2015, NECB partnered with Authess, a company using machine-learning technology to assess competency-based learning and workplace readiness, to create a real-world lending assessment for their Principles of Banking course. The assessment, which Authess created with industry-experts, includes a scenario about whether to foreclose on a home. Students read the scenario, conduct research, analyze critical information, and then submit their plans of action. Course instructors have access to multiple data points as students work through the problem and can use the data to inform what content to focus on during interactive lectures. Upon completion, students walk away with a report outlining how close their performance was to an expert’s performance in the field.”
“We are extremely pleased to be recognized as technological innovators in Higher Education,” said Howard Horton, President of NECB. “Our focus at NECB is to ensure that our students have the requisite skills to be successful in their careers. Through Authess, students were able to test their skills in determining whether to make a loan or to foreclose on one. By simulating the actual loan-making environment at banks in which credit ratings got examined, borrowing history was reviewed, and financial solidity of proposed business plans was analyzed, students were injected into a real-world scenario where their decisions could have either a positive or detrimental impact on their employer.”
"Working with the New England College of Business was an ideal partnership," said Authess CEO Paul Crockett. "NECB makes it a priority to connect directly with the local industry and help prepare their learners for in-demand jobs across banking and financial services. Working together, we developed an authentic learning assessment that exposed to NECB learners the skills and competencies required of a loan officer and gave educators insight into how students could transfer their knowledge to a real-world application. This is precisely what the Authess framework allows educators and corporations to do: gather new insight into how people think and behave while engaged with authentic tasks."
About New England College of Business
Founded in 1909, New England College of Business (NECB) is a leading Boston institution offering quality education and online degrees at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Serving students across the United States, NECB is an online college accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) and is licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education. For information on NECB, visit https://www.necb.edu/, follow NECB on Twitter or connect with the school on Facebook.
About Authess
Authess, a LearnLaunch Accelerator company based in Boston, is focused on the design, delivery, and measurement of authentic assessments. Authess’ proprietary technologies use machine learning and advanced analytics for higher levels of assessment. Authess provides insight into learners’ knowledge, skills and abilities as they solve real-world, complex problems. These competencies are not well measured with scalable multiple choice tests, yet are essential to understanding what a learner can do, not just what they know. Follow Authess on Twitter @authesslearn and on the web at http://www.authess.com.