Evaluating CBE Coursework for Transfer

William Woods University has developed standards for the evaluation of Competency Based Education (CBE) coursework completed at external institutions to determine whether such courses can be accepted for course credit toward undergraduate and graduate degrees. These standards were developed following a review of the Higher Learning Commission Framework for Competency Based Education and are intended to advance and strengthen existing WWU policies related to credit transfer from institutions offering competency based curriculum.

Any coursework labeled as CBE must meet the following standards to be eligible to be awarded academic credit at WWU:

• The coursework must have a clearly stated credit value or equivalency, supported by transcript, institutional policy/catalog, or recognized CBE framework.
• The credit for the coursework appears on an official transcript with credit-hour values or clearly documented equivalency.
• The institution who delivered the coursework holds recognized institutional accreditation (e.g., U.S. Department of Education (USDE), the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) or the American Council on Education (ACE).
• Higher Learning Commission or equivalent).

Additionally, if the three conditions above are met, the Provost of their designee will review using standards below to determine if WWU will award transfer credit for this CBE coursework:

• The coursework is organized into courses/modules/competency units with defined outcomes, assessments, and faculty oversight.
• The coursework displays evidence of substantive, valid, and reliable assessment methods demonstrating program-level rigor
• The coursework demonstrates regular and substantive interaction between faculty and students.
• The identified competencies align with course-level expectations comparable to WWU program-level coursework.