Flexible Learning Options and Competency-Based Education

Beyond a traditional official graded transcript, each student enrolled in a degree program at Purdue Global has access to a Competency Report.

The Competency Report is a tool that presents a student's capacity, demonstrated throughout his or her degree program(s) at the University, to effectively apply the knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors required to execute work-related activities and projects.

The graded transcript combined with the Competency Report provides Purdue Global graduates with a more complete picture of their academic achievement and how it relates to their career, and can convey what they can offer prospective and/or current employers.

How Is the Mastery of Learning Outcomes Measured?

Using scoring rubrics, Purdue Global faculty assess each student's mastery of course-level learning outcomes. These learning outcomes focus on the knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors a student strives to master upon completion of a course or program.

What Is the Scale Used to Show the Level of Mastery?

The competency scale used with the scoring rubric consists of five levels:

No Progress (0): Student's work demonstrates no understanding or progress toward achievement of the learning outcome.

Introductory (1): Student demonstrates rudimentary understanding and minimal progress toward the achievement of the learning outcome.

Emergent (2): Student's work demonstrates general understanding and some progress toward achievement of the learning outcome.

Practiced (3): Student's work demonstrates clear understanding and good progress toward achievement of the learning outcome.

Proficient (4): Student's work demonstrates strong comprehension and sufficient progress toward achievement of the learning outcome.

Mastery (5): Student's work demonstrates exemplary comprehension and full achievement of the learning outcome.

How Is Mastery of Learning Outcomes Related to Course Grades?

Course grades are comprised of individual assignment grades, which reflect how well a student performs on a variety of criteria such as content knowledge, timeliness, fulfillment of assignment directions, formatting and style, as well as other coursework such as discussion boards, quizzes, and seminar attendance.

By contrast, mastery of learning outcomes is measured solely on the content-specific criteria laid out in the scoring rubric.

While learning outcomes data and course grades are both based on student assignments and coursework, each provides important insight into a student's performance and ability to engage in work-related activities and projects.