Big Bet. Bold Model. Real Momentum.

Postsecondary education remains one of the most powerful engines of economic mobility for most Americans. Yet too many learners face barriers to access or leave without a credential or degree. And too often, the knowledge and skills they gain fall short of what employers need.

When we commit to grounding programs in meaningful skills aligned with workforce needs and maximize flexibility for learners, we begin to see that traditional systems weren’t built with most people in mind.

Direct assessment competency-based education (CBE) presents a new value proposition for people who have never connected with postsecondary education, who stopped or dropped out of college, or who have skills but not the credentials that employers require. Our work in California focused on direct assessment CBE is one example of how Jobs for the Future (JFF) is working with institutions to keep skills at the core of postsecondary education.

The Transformation of Higher Education is Underway

Across the nation, colleges are experimenting with new models that move beyond incremental change and reimagine time, credit, instruction, and student support from the ground up. At JFF, we believe direct assessment CBE is one of the boldest approaches out there, fundamentally restructuring how colleges operate to better serve today’s learners.

Coastline College recently launched California’s first direct assessment CBE program with the Pace+ program, offering an A.S. in Management. Other programs are close behind, including Southwestern College’s CBE Accelerate program in automotive technology, Shasta College’s competency certificate in Early Childhood Education, and Mt. San Antonio College’s associate’s degree in kinesiology.

Although these institutions built their programs collaboratively, they don’t share a single approach: each institution offers flexible, self-paced, and personalized learning that fits each specific college’s culture, student needs, and regional economic demands. This is an exciting example of state policy and investment in innovation that is not prescriptive, but catalytic—offering resources, statewide infrastructure, and support while trusting local institutions to design models that reflect local learners, markets, and institutional readiness.

To coincide with the launch of these groundbreaking programs, we are excited to share a road map to accelerate design and implementation of direct assessment CBE programs: the Direct Assessment Competency-Based Education: Implementation Blueprint.

Over the last five years, JFF has been working alongside the eight California community colleges involved in the state’s first direct assessment CBE pilot, the California Community College Chancellor’s Office, the Foundation for California Community Colleges, the Success Center for California Community Colleges, Competency-Based Education Network (CBEN), the California Virtual Campus, the RAND Corporation to develop the Direct Assessment Competency-Based Education: Implementation Blueprint. The blueprint is a practical, flexible tool designed for colleges at all stages of readiness in developing and implementing direct assessment programs.

Our early findings

In working alongside these pioneering institutions, we were reminded that innovation is not a straight line, but a series of learning loops. Our partner colleges are showing us the value of iteration, collaboration, and staying grounded in why the work matters. And if there’s anything we are taking away, it’s that transformation doesn’t happen through mandates or policies alone; it happens because people within system offices, institutions, and companies believe in the change and are willing to do the hard, messy, and creative work to make it real.

Here’s what we are learning from our first wave of changemaker colleges:

• Bold innovations require bold leaders. From the state system office to the local institutions, success has required courageous and committed leaders at every level, including presidents, deans, faculty, staff, and tech teams. Read more about the top qualities of California direct assessment CBE champions and how you might cultivate bold leaders in our blog, Let’s Transform College to Better Serve Today’s Workers.
• Learner impact must stay at the center. When we let go of assumptions and start with the learner journey, we design programs that are more responsive, more accessible, and more effective, especially for working adults, caregivers, and first-generation students.
• Clarity of purpose matters. Colleges that stayed anchored in their “why” are better able to navigate tough decisions and system challenges.
• Peer learning is a powerful accelerator. Engaging in a network or peer learning space with colleges navigating similar challenges allowed participating institutions to surface practical solutions, share promising practices, and troubleshoot in real time. Cross-college collaboration helped leaders build confidence and drive collective momentum.
• Systems must enable innovation. California’s move to revise Title 5 regulations, investment in new technology platforms to pilot, and fostering of statewide general education competencies have fostered flexibility and customized approaches to direct assessment CBE.

Even with robust support, resources, and technical assistance, designing and implementing direct assessment programs requires navigating deeply rooted structures that were not built with this model in mind. Faculty roles are traditionally tied to credit and clock hours. Technology systems often assume fixed calendars and uniform pacing. And redesigning curriculum around competencies is a major, collaborative undertaking.

Yet these colleges rose to the challenge and are transforming the system in significant ways. Wherever you are on your journey to creating more flexible, personalized, and student-centered learning experiences, you can follow their example by starting with our blueprint.