Competency-Based Education (CBE) for Working Adults at Salt Lake Community College

Abstract

In this chapter, the authors share lessons that Salt Lake Community College (SLCC), a two-year comprehensive community college located in the most urban area of the state, learned in implementing CBE. The story begins with an explanation of the organizational context for CBE reform at SLCC. As one of two 2-year colleges to join the initial group of higher education institutions in the Competency-Based Education Network (C-BEN), very quickly SLCC was thrust into the limelight as a potential leader in the newest national wave of CBE implementation. The story continues by describing full-scale implementation of CBE at SLCC funded by the United States Department of Labor Trade Adjustment Act Community College Career Training (TAACCCT) grant. Lastly, the authors highlight major lessons learned through SLCC's journey and implications for future CBE implementation that focuses on institution-wide scale up at SLCC and consider what other higher education institutions may be able to learn from SLCC's experience.