D2L Announces New CBE Solution Aimed at Helping Millions of Nontraditional Learners Achieve Their Degree

KITCHENER-WATERLOO, ON--(Marketwired - October 14, 2015) - D2L, the edtech company that created Brightspace, today announced a new Competency-Based Education (CBE) solution for schools that incorporates Brightspace Learning Environment, strategic consulting, domain expertise, and a CBE community. Today, there are more than 30 million adult nontraditional learners in the US who have started a post-secondary education but haven't completed it. This solution allows higher education institutions to launch CBE today, making a degree more accessible and attainable for nontraditional students and underserved populations.

"When most people think of the path to a college degree, it's a fairly traditional scenario -- four years of high school then off to campus for four more years of dedicated, on-campus study, graduating with the promise of a good job and a decent salary. Instead, this pathway is becoming increasingly atypical," said John Baker, CEO of D2L. "We built our CBE solution to address peoples' needs and fill the gaps in the educational system. By helping institutions implement CBE, we're helping millions of students attain the degrees they want to earn."

CBE is a learning model that focuses on the outcomes of education, including what students can do rather than simply what they know. This has become increasingly important as more students take time off to work in between years of school, attend classes while working full time, or often leave their universities without completing their degree program. Additionally, the greatest increase in higher education enrollment today is among historically underserved populations, which creates a more diverse collection of students with equally diverse needs.

According to Eduventures, CBE has gained momentum in recent years because it precisely meets the needs of unique student populations. "Every time we survey nontraditional students and ask them what would compel them to go back to school," says Principal Analyst Jeff Alderson, "time and time again they describe precisely the characteristics that define CBE." These include "not just lower tuition costs, which CBE makes possible through various subscription-based pricing models, but also access to academic programs that are readily aligned with the needs of employers and that take into account the knowledge and skills adults already bring into a program."

The Brightspace Competency-Based Education solution includes offerings such as:

• THE BRIGHTSPACE COMMUNITY: D2L connects CBE clients with other customers operating and developing CBE programs. The company also offers self-serve content on how to set up Brightspace for CBE as well as resources on how to pursue innovation and funding.
• CBE CONSULTING SERVICES: D2L offers three levels of CBE consulting to meet every school's needs.
  • CBE Getting Started Service: Institutions will learn how to use Brightspace tools to implement CBE programs.
  • CBE Strategic Planning Service: D2L's CBE experts will help schools build a CBE strategic plan. This includes communication planning, business processes and practices review, pedagogy/andragogy review, technology review, and a Plan/Achieve/Measure implementation plan.
  • CBE Monthly Change Management Service: A one-year service to assist schools as they roll out their CBE programs.
• CBE COURSEWARE DEVELOPMENT: Using CBE best practices and methods, D2L can help schools transform their courses into CBE offerings, ensuring competencies are aligned to content and assessments.
• BRIGHTSPACE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT: Brightspace is a CBE-ready learning management system (LMS) and offers a variety of assessment types, an adaptive learning engine, an ePortfolio tool, and a badging tool. The platform is cloud-based and built for online and mobile learning.

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN ROLLS OUT CBE PROGRAM TO SERVE ~650,000 NONTRADITIONAL STUDENTS IN THE STATE

In addition to unveiling its new CBE solution, D2L also shared that the University of Wisconsin System (UW System) has become its first statewide CBE customer. The UW System is one of the largest systems of public higher education in the country, serving more than 180,000 students annually. In Wisconsin, more than 650,000 nontraditional students have completed some post-secondary education but lack a degree. The UW System's CBE program, the UW Flexible Option, has been designed to meet the needs of those students.

"UW Flex is built to provide a high-quality UW education to adult learners who are working full-time and supporting families. After only 22 months in operation, UW Flex is flourishing -- enrollments are strong and our students are moving through their programs successfully. About a dozen have already graduated. The availability of technology for online learning, coupled with the competency-based education model, offers our students access to an education that simply did not exist before," said Aaron Brower, Provost and Vice Chancellor, University of Wisconsin-Extension.

For more information about Brightspace, its capabilities for CBE, and how higher education institutions are using it, visit www.brightspace.com/solutions/cbe.

ABOUT D2L

D2L is the software leader that makes the learning experience better. The company's cloud-based platform -- Brightspace -- is not a common one-size-fits-all learning management system (LMS). It's easier to use, more flexible, and smart. With Brightspace, you can personalize the experience for every learner to deliver real results. The company is a world leader in learning analytics: its platform predicts learner performance so that you can take action in real-time to keep them on track. Brightspace is used by learners in higher education, K-12, and the enterprise sector, including the Fortune 1000. D2L has operations in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, Brazil, and Singapore. | www.brightspace.com

© 2015 D2L Corporation.

The D2L family of companies includes D2L Corporation, D2L Ltd, D2L Australia Pty Ltd, D2L Europe Ltd, D2L Asia Pte Ltd, and D2L Brasil Soluções de Tecnologia para Educação Ltda.

ALL D2L MARKS ARE TRADEMARKS OF D2L CORPORATION. PLEASE VISIT D2L.COM/TRADEMARKS FOR A LIST OF D2L MARKS.