Antony, James CJones, Kristin Ann2015-02-242015-02-242014Jones_washington_0250E_13818.pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/1773/27457Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2014University of Washington Abstract Building Competence: A Case Study in Competency-based Education Kristin A. Jones Chair of Supervisory Committee: Professor James Soto Antony College of Education The purpose of this study was to determine promising practices emerging as a small private not-for-profit university in the greater Seattle, Washington area implements competency-based education programs in a variety of degree areas. This grounded theory case study was conducted to gain insight into what emerging practices are being found to increase student success and completion in a not-for-profit university which has a high non-traditional adult student population. This study takes a grounded theory approach, examining perspectives of faculty, executive leaders, and extensive document review. The researcher presents and discusses common themes that emerged from the interviews of participants and reviews of public university documents, and explores the positive impact these have on the university, and its programs and students. Also presented are areas of differentiation amongst programs and, while some flexibility is beneficial, the need for overarching structure and guidelines that still exists. Results of this study indicate that a strong leadership structure is key to university success with implementing competency-based programs. Within this structure, clear guidelines, training, and accountability are essential elements. This study's findings have theoretical implications for university administrators, program leadership, faculty, policy makers, curriculum designers and any others with a vested interest in competency-based education.application/pdfen-USCopyright is held by the individual authors.Competency-BasedEducational leadershipeducation - seattleThesis