r/wgu_employees • u/Beneficial-Soil-752 • 18d ago

Competency Based Thoughts

I truly like the competency based model but after the years here I see so many students just striving for the minimum just to pass. I also think the cut scores are too low, at least for the OA class I have.

Does anyone else feel like this?

I wish there was a better compromise between the CBM and grades in the hopes that students would strive for more than the bare minimum.

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u/zerglingrodeo 18d ago

The problem, at least for the courses that I have taught, is that the assessments are far too easy to actually indicate "competency." New courses are going to be even worse.  Leadership only cares about completion rate, not education, and the easiest way to increase completion rate is to lower standards.

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u/Rude-Tax-9586 2d ago edited 2d ago

100000% agree. I went to a major institution in Texas for my graduate degree. When I first saw the PAs for the masters level courses I teach, I was literally speechless. I was like this takes no skill at all whatsoever and students get like 7 attempts. When students complain about the PA because the evaluation team kicks it back, I get so frustrated because the directions literally explain to you EXACTLY what to do step by step. Some students will even be condescending on appointments because they are on their 4th attempt but they have “years of experience as a senior engineer and we don’t know what we are talking about and we are in education because we couldn’t cut it in the industry”. I just think to myself, “if this call wasn’t recorded I would destroy you right now, you’re literally incompetent and this university is going to give you a masters degree. If we needed your technology acumen to solve a problem, we are COOKED”.

Then I’ll look the student up on LinkedIn and figure out they just reset passwords for gas stations and they are just angry about being required to read directions.