Brandman University Teams Up With Flat World Education to Offer Adaptive, Mobile Competency Based Education Degree
Irvine, CA (PRWEB) January 27, 2014 -- Brandman University, a private nonprofit institution, has engaged with education content and technology enabler Flat World Education to offer an online competency based bachelor’s degree in business administration (BBA).
“Our vision is to be the leader in the evolution of adult learning and launching our competency based BBA helps achieve this vision,” said Gary Brahm, chancellor of Brandman University. “We believe our relationship with Flat World Education will be instrumental in delivering a high quality degree offering to adults who already have real world experience but lack a degree.”
Brandman is offering a WASC accredited competency based BBA to help combat several negative trends in higher education. “Higher education enrollments have declined in the past year due to higher education costs,” said Dr. Charles Bullock, provost of Brandman University. “54% of Americans are underemployed and employers are telling us that the skills gap is widening. We view competency based education as a way to address these issues.”
“A competency based education degree will allow students to benefit from what they have already mastered,” said Brahm. “Students will take an assessment and then adaptive software will modify the content so that students will be taught only what they don’t know. This will allow a student to progress at his or her own pace and there is no need to sit in a classroom lecture setting. A competency based degree can be earned on average in 30 months and for a price that is half of what most state universities charge,” said Brahm. “This allows us to address the negative trends in higher education such as cost, time spent in the classroom and employers will now have better equipped employees.”
Brandman choose to partner with Flat World Education based on the company’s proven track record delivering high quality educational platforms and digital content.
“There are a number of catalysts making this movement toward personalized learning, at scale, possible. We have an entrepreneurial regulatory awakening – the U.S. Department of Education actively seeking new models and encouraging experimental sites – this is a major game changer. In response, many of our high performing institutions of higher education are submitting truly groundbreaking competency-driven approaches. These models will combine a powerful mix of faculty mentored learning with algorithmic learning and analytics – adaptive learning. And finally, the convergence of our physical and digital lives means that we will soon have smart learning devices and experiences in our hands 24/7. The team at Brandman are incredible thought partners and co-developers of this new paradigm,” said James Rianhard, president of Flat World Education.
Bullock and Rianhard recently presented the framework of competency based education at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) annual meeting in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 23.
About Brandman University
Brandman University is a private, nonprofit institution accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). As part of the Chapman University System, Brandman blends a legacy of academic excellence with innovative curriculum and strong support services designed for students with busy schedules. The university offers 50+ undergraduate, graduate, credential and certificate programs across its schools of arts and sciences, business, education, nursing and health. Brandman serves 12,000 students annually with programs available online and at over 25 campuses throughout California and Washington. The university’s online programs consistently rank among the top in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. http://www.Brandman.edu.
About Flat World Education
Founded in 2007, Flat World Education designs and enables personalized learning solutions at scale. Through its Flat World Knowledge e-book publishing platform, over 1 million students in 77 countries have access to affordable, expertly authored textbooks. In partnership with leading postsecondary innovators, Flat World Education also accelerates major transformation initiatives by pioneering personalized, mobile, competency-based learning solutions. By delivering breakthrough results in cost, access, career readiness, and lifelong learning, Flat World Education sees the opportunity for personalized education as an equalizer, not a differentiator.
Steve Quis, Brandman University - Chapman University System, http://www.brandman.edu, +1 (949) 341-7657, [email protected]
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