Congratulations to Coastline College – California’s First Community College Approved for a Direct Assessment CBE Program

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C-BEN

The Competency-Based Education Network (C-BEN) is thrilled to congratulate Coastline College on a historic achievement!

Coastline College has received approval from the U.S. Department of Education to launch the first direct assessment Competency-Based Education (CBE) degree program in the California Community College system—a landmark moment for learners, institutions, and the broader skills-based education movement.

The program, called Pace+,  empowers students to move through their coursework at a personalized rate, advancing as they demonstrate mastery through real-world, performance-based assessments. Its first offering is a fully online Associate of Science in Management, which opens for enrollment on June 1, 2025.

A longtime member and leader within the CBE community, Coastline has consistently demonstrated a deep commitment to high-quality, learner-centered design. As a founding member of the California Community College Chancellor’s Office CBE Collaborative and an active partner with C-BEN, including through our collaboration with faculty to design their performance-based assessments using simulation, Coastline has been at the forefront of reimagining how learners can advance based on what they know and can do.

“Being the first is never easy.” says C-BEN’s President, Charla Long. “Coastline College took on the incredible challenge of designing a new model of education that truly meets the needs of today’s learners—one that prioritizes flexibility, equity, and student success. The leadership and faculty at Coastline persisted through the complexities of launching Direct Assessment CBE, and now learners will reap the rewards. We are proud to have supported their groundbreaking work through technical assistance and applaud their commitment to expanding opportunity through the Pace+ Program.”

On behalf of C-BEN, we offer our warmest congratulations to Coastline College for leading the way in California and beyond. Your leadership sets a powerful precedent for what’s possible in community colleges across the country.

About the Competency-Based Education Network (C-BEN)

The Competency-Based Education Network (C-BEN) is revolutionizing how we design, experience, and measure learning throughout a lifetime. We believe learning should be measured by what you can do — the knowledge, skills, and behaviors that lay the foundation for your success — and for more than 10 years we have been guiding our expansive network of education leaders, employers, policymakers, and changemakers towards quality competency-based models and practices. C-BEN is a U.S.-based non-profit organization. For more information, visit C-BEN.org

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