Competency-Based Education Programs- Questions and Answers

The attachment to this letter provides, in a Question and Answer (Q&A) format, guidance to institutions regarding the eligibility of competency-based education programs, which include direct assessment programs, under existing statutory and regulatory requirements for the Title IV, Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA) student assistance programs...
Q13    Since students generally progress in competency-based programs at their own pace, how are the Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4) provisions to be implemented when there are no established start and end dates for competencies?
A13    Because of the self-paced nature of CBE programs, we consider the time when a student is enrolled in a competency to be, for Title IV R2T4 purposes, a module.  We consider a CBE module to have begun when the student began working toward demonstrating mastery of the competency and ending when the student has successfully demonstrated mastery.  An institution must have a mechanism for determining and documenting that a student has begun attendance in a payment period by working toward one or more competencies. More...