Performance-Based Education

In most PBE courses, you will work in a self-directed manner and study the industry-aligned content, taking the assessments when you are ready, often with additional opportunities to exhibit mastery. This compared to the traditional system involving due dates and a single opportunity to earn a grade. Your mastery of competencies can vary based on previous experiences and proficiency. You will have the flexibility to determine how much time to spend on specific assignments, as long as all competency assessments are mastered at the appropriate level by the course completion date. As such, students will have the opportunity to move through the coursework at their own pace, but will not be penalized if they take the entire scheduled session period (5 weeks / 7.5 weeks / 15 weeks) to complete a technical course. General Academic courses will also be offered in 15-week sessions with the opportunity to accelerate through self-directed learning.

PBE shakes it all up by allowing you to work at your own timeline. In a PBE program, all your course content is available to you through online instruction. If you’re a quick learner you could complete two to three lessons a week. If you need more time, then you can take the time you need, within the session or semester.

Once you’ve reviewed the lesson, you’ll spend time in the labs applying and mastering the skills.  Whether you are in a hybrid-program or an online-program, once you’ve reviewed the module you will spend time either in a lab or on your own applying and mastering the skills. Once you’ve mastered the skill, your instructor will evaluate you and you can move onto the next competency. If you haven’t mastered it, you will spend more time with the instructor and get another attempt at the assessment. No one is held back or pressured forward by due dates. You move through these lessons and master the skills at your pace, as long as you are able to master them within the semester you are registered for. How quickly or slowly you earn your degree and get that job are all up to you.

How you learn isn’t just about what happens in the classroom, but what happens outside of it as well. Many of us work to support ourselves and/or our families which can make getting a degree difficult, and for some of us impossible. PBE provides that additional flexibility for you to learn around you and your family’s schedules and time constraints you may have. Because PBE is all about how and when you learn, we’ve extended lab hours so you can master the skills even at night.

When you enroll into a Performance-Based program, you can also benefit from Multiple Entry/Multiple Exit (ME/ME) scheduling. 

Multiple Entry

If you are not able to start at the beginning of a semester you may choose to start the program at week six of the semester as long as you complete your courses by the end of the semester. Full-time status is possible. 

Multiple Exit

When you complete your course(s) you will not have to wait until the end of the semester to finish. You can exit the program when all courses are complete, which allows you to enter into the workforce earlier so you can start earning a paycheck sooner.