The Competency-Based Education Network (C-BEN) grew from the idea that education should focus on true competency — what an individual knows and can do — rather than proxies for knowledge and skills, such as credit hours. Our network, committed to growing competency-based education, strives to make postsecondary education more flexible, responsive, and valuable for learners and employers.
Ten years since our inception, the demand for skilled, agile workers has only increased. C-BEN has grown from seven institutions into a diverse network of colleges and universities, state systems, corporations and employers, policymakers, and changemakers committed to implementing CBE in education, training, and hiring. While quality CBE practice has continued to spread across the U.S., the aspirations of member institutions have, at times, been constrained by legislative and regulatory requirements at the federal and state levels.
We are pleased to announce our enthusiastic support for the bipartisan Empowering Learners Through Competency-Based Education Act. The legislation upholds longstanding C-BEN commitments to quality and responsible innovation, and we extend deep appreciation to Representatives Grothman, Petterson, and Owens for their leadership. We also appreciate the C-BEN policy workgroup members who have worked tirelessly over the last ten years to guide bipartisan public policy discussions, especially C-BEN Board Member Jillian Klein, Jamie Fasteau and Brittany Matthews of the Center for Higher Education Policy and Practice at SNHU, Julie Peller of Higher Learning Advocates, and our institutional members that have publicly embraced the bill.
Charla Long, C-BEN President, calls upon our broad network of stakeholders to demonstrate their support of this federal legislation by encouraging their elected officials to support this bill. Because our fellow citizens deserve an approach to learning, that works for everyone.
