Laitinen notes that if you nix the credit hour without replacing it, while. Information resources on federal policy related to higher education accreditation, including the chea federal update, federal laws addressing accreditation, letters to. A century old standard in a changing education landscape from the car carnegie foundation whose advisory panel included johnstone, ewell, and laitinen in 2015. Amy laitinen is deputy director for higher education at new america. Amy laitinen email protected is deputy director for higher education at the new america foundation in washington, dc, and author of the september 2012 new america report cracking the credit hour, on which this article is based. Cracking the credit hour, amy laitinen explains the history of the.
At the prompting of the badges research call reading club, ive finally got around to digging into cracking the credit hour, a report from amy laitinen and the new america foundation on how the timebased conception of college credit has no real connection to learning or skills and causes huge problems for nontraditional students most students. The basic currency of higher education the credit hour represents the root of many problems plaguing americas higher education system. We look forward to bringing you more on this topic in the near future. Cracking the credit hour this report describes the history of the credit hour and redefining the credit hour in a way that accounts for measuring student learning. Truly, significant progress is being made toward cracking the credit hour, as amy laitinen from new america so masterfully described in her 2012 article, but this comprehensive learning ecosystem that transcends contextual settings is still under development or early in the implementation phase. Carnegie, the founder of the credithour, seeks its makeover.
The report also describes emerging efforts to measure student learning, such as the degree qualifications profile. Cracking the credit hour traces the history of this timebased unit, from the days of andrew carnegie to recent federal efforts to define a credit. A credit hour typically represents one hour of facultystudent contact time per week over a 15week semester. In cracking the credit hour, amy laitinen, deputy director for higher education at the new america foundation, said time spent in the classroom does not necessarily yield better learning within the classroom. The credit hour causes many of higher educations problems. The credit hour is here to stay, at least for now the. The forum and news editorial board diana bamfordrees beth doyle. The curious birth and harmful legacy of the credit hour the. Amy laitinen is deputy director for higher education at the new america foundation. New higher education bill rolls back obamaera safeguards. Amy laitinen, new america foundation council for higher.
May 02, 20 helping colleges move beyond the credit hourby marc parryamanda voisard for the chronicleamy laitinen in the delicate process of reforming how colleges measure learning, amy laitinen s job sometimes feels like marriage counseling. It seemed likely someday to the carnegie foundation in. Put differently, the credithour is a measure of inputs into learning. She is also the author of cracking the credit hour, a report that argues that the unit is at. Neg reg 101 laitinen 2018 the journal of competencybased. Despite the assumption that more credit hours will equal an increased level of knowledge, ultimately setting up graduates for. Cracking the credit hour was published by education think tank education sector and nonpartisan public policy institute new america foundation and written by new america deputy director for higher education, amy laitinen, who formerly worked as a senior policy analyst with education sector. Amy laitinen, the deputy director for higher education at new america, a liberal think tank, wrote a report in 2012, cracking the credit hour, that blamed the credit hour for some of higher. It points out the standard unit is in fact not standard at all.
A resource from new america foundation, education sector. Formulating a strategy to support student mastery of the competencies rather than time as one of the main forms of measurement. Cracking the credit hour, amy laitinen, new america. The basic currency of higher education the credit hour represents the root of many problems plaguing americas higher.
Although neither of her parents went to college, they had long set the. Kleincollins, competencybased degree programs in the u. Cracking the credit hour outlines several indications that the credit hour is antiquated. In the article cracking the credit hour, amy laitinen notes, the problem is that over the years, the credit hours use has expanded beyond measures of time to serve a proxy for measures of learning p. College credit hours are a waste of money opinion cnn. Cracking the credit hour, amy laitinen september 2012. Department of education letter could put cracks in the. Problems using the credit hour as a measure of education author amy laitinen, deputy director for higher education at the new america foundations. Helping colleges move beyond the credit hourby marc parryamanda voisard for the chronicleamy laitinen in the delicate process of reforming how colleges measure learning, amy laitinen s job sometimes feels like marriage counseling. While the credit hour remains the standard measurement of how much a student should have learned, laitinen points out that it does a rather poor job of. Features fullscreen sharing embed analytics article stories visual stories seo. Jan 20, 2014 at the prompting of the badges research call reading club, ive finally got around to digging into cracking the credit hour, a report from amy laitinen and the new america foundation on how the timebased conception of college credit has no real connection to learning or skills and causes huge problems for nontraditional students most students. A new report released wednesday from education sector and the new america foundation, cracking the credit hour by amy laitinen examines the history of the system in which one credit hour typically. Can competencybased assessment move us from credit hours.
Define the credit hour too tightly, and innovation would be stifled. Peruse the great research that is happening through the journal of competencybased education. In cracking the credit hour, a 2012 new america report, amy laitinen made the case that the credit hour is not a good measure of student learning for any model. This report traces the history of higher educations timebased unit of measurement the credit hour and argues persuasively for a new approach. Cracking the credit hour by education sector issuu. Elon keeps the credit hour despite national debate elon.
Using learning outcomes over credit hours gives institutions a better. Department of education, said that balance can be achieved with policy fixes for the credit hour. She previously served as a policy adviser to the undersecretary and assistant. Oct 25, 2017 the white paper cracking the credit hour by amy laitinen, director for higher education at new america foundation, takes a look at the origins and limitations of that more traditional metric. All three reports agree that credit hours are an insufficient. If 2012 was the year of the massive open online course, according to the new york times, 20 was something of a reality check. Competencybased learning bibliography southern regional. But study after study shows that the graduates of our fine institutions are not measuring up in the real world. Uhh credit hour policy regardless of the type of academic activity, schedule, or method of delivery, one. S for this and other definitions, see deborah everhart, cathy sandeen, deborah seymour, and karen yoshino, clarifying competencybased education terms. Time to dump seattimebased credit hour, says research. We hope you enjoy this issue of the cael forum and news and its discussions of this new landscape in higher education today. The credit hour definition an amount of work represented in intended.
Are credit hours the best way to measure student progress. Uhh credit hour policy university of hawaii at hilo. Although neither of her parents went to college, they had long set the expectation that she would. Education department is going back to the drawing board on some basic rules of higher education, including one concept which has been. Credit hour as a proxy for learning, safman working draft. Read amy laitinen s pivotal cracking the credit hour.
This report traces the history of higher educations timebased unit of. It seemed obvious to amy laitinen in the landmark cracking the credit hour in 2012. A future tense event if 2012 was the year of the massive open online course, according to the new york times, 20 was something of a reality check. Credithourasaproxyforlearning by phyllisteddisafman. Two people can spend the same amount of time in the same course and learn very different things see figure 2. Overview resource guide to competencybased education.
The credit hour is here to stay, at least for now the chronicle of. Education department is going back to the drawing board on some basic rules of higher education. Amy laitinen, deputy director, higher education, new america foundation. Cracking the credit hour from the new american foundation is a fascinating read. Carnegie, the founder of the credithour, seeks its. Colleges routinely reject credits earned at other colleges. The white paper cracking the credit hour by amy laitinen, director for higher education at new america foundation, takes a look at the origins and limitations of that more traditional metric. Department of education clarifies accreditation standards april 22, 2016. But the credit hour is also archaic, a nonsensical basis for regulating online programs in which the whole notion of time in the classroom has no meaning. Cracking the credit hour amy laitinen, new america foundation, september 5, 2012 the basic currency of higher education the credit hour represents the root of many problems plaguing americas higher education system. Grades should solve this problem and be clear indications of student mastery of subjects, but as amy laitinen points out, grades have become increasingly.
Jan 29, 2015 the credit hour is here to stay, at least for now. Aug 02, 2018 devos seeks to rewrite the rules on higher ed the u. Given that 59 percent of college students attend two or more schools, nontransfer of credits results in waste. In the absence of better, more consistent, and more transparent ways of measuring learning, however, credit hours have become. Devos seeks to rewrite the rules on higher ed woub. The credit hour is the bedrock of the entire higher education system, so it could be catastrophic, said amy laitinen, a former obama administration staff.
The basic currency of higher educationthe credit hourrepresents the root of many problems plaguing americas higher education system. Can competencybased assessment move us from credit hours to. Last week i wrote about the release of our new report, cracking the credit hour, which reveals the credit hour s curious origins and the fact that credit hours were never meant to measure, or be a proxy for, learning. However, laitinen, who is a former official at the u. It seemed likely someday to the carnegie foundation in the carnegie unit. Like many 18yearold high school graduates, she isnt sure what she wants to do when she grows up. Stay tuned to higher ed watch for more thoughts on direct assessment and other tools that congress and the department can and should use to try and crack the credit hour. Cracking the credit hour, which reveals the credit hours curious origins and the fact that credit hours were never meant to measure, or be a proxy for, learning. Cracking the credit hour college and career readiness. Competencybased education combines an intentional and transparent approach to curricular design with an academic model in which the time it takes to demonstrate competencies varies and. Competencybased education quality program design and. Information resources on federal policy related to higher education accreditation, including the chea federal update, federal laws addressing accreditation, letters to lawmakers and the administration and more. She is also the author of cracking the credit hour, a report that argues that the unit is.
Dec 12, 2017 the credit hour is the bedrock of the entire higher education system, so it could be catastrophic, said amy laitinen, a former obama administration staff member and the director of higher. As much as we love the whole history of the credit hour, which we detailed in our paper cracking the credit hour, the purpose of the upcoming. Nov 16, 2016 in the article cracking the credit hour, amy laitinen notes, the problem is that over the years, the credit hours use has expanded beyond measures of time to serve a proxy for measures of learning p. Investing in quality competencybased education educause. Devos seeks to rewrite the rules on higher ed the u. Federal student aid cbe reference guide august 2016.
Helping colleges move beyond the credit hour the chronicle of. The failed connection between seat time and student academic progress is the subject of a new report, cracking the credit hour, by amy laitinen of the new america foundation, a nonprofit think tank based in washington, d. Changing the way we account for college credit issues in. Amy laitinen, deputy director for higher education at new america, formerly the new america foundation, and author of cracking the credit. Cracking the credit hour by amy laitinen what is competencybased education. Cracking the credit hour traces the history of this timebased unit, from the days of andrew carnegie to. Helping colleges move beyond the credit hour claire e.
Proponents tout this modelwhich allows students to progress at their own pace by. Amy laitinen, deputy director, higher education, new. Department of education letter could put cracks in the credit. Sep 10, 2012 last week i wrote about the release of our new report, cracking the credit hour, which reveals the credit hours curious origins and the fact that credit hours were never meant to measure, or be a proxy for, learning. Sep 09, 2019 abusive interpretation of the credit hour could lead to fraud on a huge scale. Amy laitinen is deputy director for higher education at the new america foundation and author of the 2012 report cracking the credit hour. Cracking the credit hour, which argued that the timebased units are the root of. Helping colleges move beyond the credit hour clarifications.
New america foundation, education sector this report traces the history of higher educations timebased unit of measurement the credit hour and argues persuasively for a new approach. Define it too loosely, and taxpayers would get taken for a ride. A quick look at rasmussen colleges cbe model page 2 of. Cracking the credit hour by amy laitinen of the new america foundation naf in 2012. Eric ed540304 cracking the credit hour, new america. Cracking the credit hour recommends a number of different policy solutions. Thats because when the credit hour was developed at the turn of the 20th century, it was never meant to measure student learning. Amy laitinen, deputy director, higher education, new america foundation subject. The report, cracking the credit hour, traces the history of the credit hour, which was created by andrew carnegie at the turn of the 19th century. A century old standard in a changing education landscape whose advisory panel included johnstone, ewell and laitinen in 2015.
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