Brandman U. Gets Green Light for Direct Assessment

Brandman University this week announced that the U.S. Department of Education had approved its application to offer federal financial aid for an emerging form of competency-based education. The university is the fourth institution to get the nod from the department for "direct assessment" degrees, which are decoupled from the credit-hour standard. The feds have sent some mixed signals about this approach, most recently with a critical audit from the department's Office of Inspector General. But Brandman's successful application is more evidence that the Education Department largely backs direct assessment.