Online learning providers such as Coursera are building partnerships around performance-based admissions programs, lowering the barrier to participation for students of all backgrounds, which could serve as a model for other programs that could make it easier for more tech professionals to enter the workforce.
Coursera has partnered with educational institutions such as Ball State University, University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder), Illinois Institute of Technology (Illinois Tech), and Northeastern University to offer students alternative pathways to enroll in online degree programs.
Technical professionals who have day jobs and don’t have time to go through the admissions process can enroll in the program by just trying out a few courses. Because technical professionals have many options for training after a four-year degree, and some jobs such as web developers, systems administrators, and database engineers don’t require a four-year degree at all, a performance-based admission program can be a quicker path to a college education.
If you are an experienced technical professional and need to learn new skills in data science and engineering without obtaining another degree, our performance-based admissions program gives you the option to take on additional training.
Performance-based admissions programs allow educators to completely rethink the role of college applications, according to Quentin McAndrew, global academic strategist at Coursera and former assistant vice dean and executive director of academic and learning innovation at the University of Colorado Boulder, who was part of the team that developed performance-based admissions programs.
The goal of UC Boulder faculty was to establish equity among tech students and remove bias from applications, McAndrew said. A merit-based admissions program benefits students who work during the day and have limited time to spend on the admissions process. Students can avoid digging through their college transcripts or finding professors from years ago to get letters of recommendation. They can also save up to a year of time studying for the GRE.
“They don’t have to rely on past achievements that may not reflect who they are now,” McAndrew said, adding that the programs offer options for adult learners who want to go back to college for a bachelor’s degree or take certification programs in Google IT or Microsoft Data Analytics on Coursera.
Northeastern University’s Graduate School of Engineering program allows students to gain full admission by taking two classes in Northeastern University’s Data Analytics Engineering program. Students can gain skills like R, SQL, and Python without going through the full admissions process.
McAndrew explained that students will access programs on the Coursera platform, but will take online courses taught by university faculty following the same curriculum as they would on campus.
With no application process, students simply enroll in courses and pay tuition. As long as they earn a B or better, they can study toward their degree. They can also try out non-credit courses to see if they’re ready to take on a particular course.
“Once you register and pay, you’ll have access to the course within a few hours,” said Randall Fullington, assistant vice dean and executive director of academic and learning innovation at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Students who don’t have a technology degree but have a passion for technology can benefit from the performance-based admissions program. “Now they can come back and actually realize their full ambitions and potential,” McAndrew said.
Coursera and partners like Boulder are still working to let students know that performance-based admissions programs exist: McAndrew said 25 percent of Coursera’s degree programs now offer performance-based admissions.
Making technology learning more equitable
The goal of merit-based admissions is to make learning more inclusive and allow universities to offer programs while avoiding bias.
The issue with merit-based admissions is “how inclusive it is to professional and lifelong learners, rather than making it harder for them to pursue higher education,” said Malik Sundaram, vice president for enrollment management and student affairs at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Tech professionals who work during the day have personal commitments and may not have time to write college essays or get letters of recommendation from their bosses. “If they’re a manager or a vice president at a company, would you want them to do all of this?” Sundaram asked. “We want this to be as inclusive as possible so that there are no barriers to taking that first step into graduate school. So performance-based admissions was born.”
“The application process is completely fair because it’s based on your experience, your ability and your willingness to put in the coursework,” says McAndrew. “It takes the application decision away from universities and puts the learner in charge of their own learning.”
McAndrew said he has heard from students that without merit-based admissions, they are unlikely to return to college to complete their degree.
How CU Boulder implemented performance-based admissions
One of the reasons the University of Colorado Boulder instituted merit-based admissions was because of the strain it was putting on registrars, said Randall Fullington, assistant vice president and executive director of academic and learning innovation at the university.
The university offers master’s programs in electrical engineering, computer science and robotics through its School of Engineering and Applied Science. The university will also launch an AI graduate certificate program in the fall that will be part of a computer science degree. Many students who work full-time are looking to build skills in fields such as data science, Fullington said. He said 70% of students in the university’s data science graduate programs work full-time.
“It’s great to see people embracing this model,” Fullington said. “Our mission is really about reach — to get our education to learners all over the world, and this is how we can do that.”
Courses at UC Boulder are stackable, meaning students can take about nine to 12 credits that stack together and build up to a full degree, Fullington said.
“This allows students to choose the level of qualification they feel is important for their career,” Mr Fullington said.
Illinois Institute of Technology to Offer Performance-Based Program for ‘Career Growers’
Illinois Institute of Technology developed its own criteria for a performance-based admissions program in consultation with Coursera and the University of Colorado Boulder, Sundaram said. Coursework includes training in AI and data science. A sample course is “Introduction to Data Structures.”
Participants in the Illinois Tech program range from those changing jobs from one industry to another to those looking to advance in their current field. [Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)] “It’s the same content you would learn in a degree program,” Sundaram said.
Sundaram said that career elongators can enter the Illinois Tech program with certifications from AWS or Salesforce rather than credits, and that students can earn these certifications in exchange for reduced course loads.
Open learning MOOCs allow people moving from other professions into tech to test their knowledge without having to enroll fully. “They have the convenience of being able to try it once and then keep going,” Sandhalem said. “That’s what we’ve heard is most beneficial for lifelong learners.”