COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATION NETWORK INC

OVER THE PAST YEAR, THE COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATION NETWORK (C-BEN) HAS CONTINUED TO LEAD NATIONAL EFFORTS TO ADVANCE A SKILLS-FIRST SOCIETY BY DESIGNING EQUITABLE, WORK-LEARN PATHWAYS AND EQUIPPING EDUCATORS WITH INNOVATIVE TOOLS AND STRATEGIES. OUR TEAM NOW INCLUDES 16 FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES, ALLOWING US TO EXPAND OUR SUPPORT TO INSTITUTIONS, SYSTEMS, EMPLOYERS, AND STATES COMMITTED TO COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATION (CBE). C-BEN CO-FACILITATED NATIONAL WORKSHOPS WITH THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGES OF NURSING, AND TO DATE, WE HAVE TRAINED TWO-THIRDS OF ALL U.S. COLLEGES OF NURSING ON HOW TO IMPLEMENT COMPETENCY-BASED MODELS ALIGNED WITH THE ESSENTIALS. IN KENTUCKY, WE COMPLETED A STATEWIDE GRADUATE PROFILE PROJECT IN NOVEMBER 2024 IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE COUNCIL ON POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION. THE RESULTING ESSENTIAL SKILLS FRAMEWORK IS NOW INFORMING INSTITUTIONAL STRATEGY AND WORKFORCE ALIGNMENT EFFORTS ACROSS THE STATE. WE DEEPENED OUR PARTNERSHIPS WITH TRIBAL COMMUNITIES THROUGH CONTINUED WORK WITH THE NAVAJO NATION, HELPING LEARNERS DESIGN INDIVIDUALIZED EMPLOYABILITY PATHWAYS THAT PROMOTE FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE AND LIFE AUTONOMY. IN ALABAMA, WE SUPPORTED THE STATE'S TALENT TRIAD INITIATIVE-AN AMBITIOUS EFFORT TO CREATE A SKILLS-BASED TALENT MARKETPLACE THAT CONNECTS UNDEREMPLOYED AND UNEMPLOYED RESIDENTS TO LEARNING AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES. C-BEN'S SUPPORT FOR ALABAMA'S WORK HAS BECOME A BLUEPRINT FOR OTHER STATES. ADDITIONALLY, WE ARE CONTRIBUTING TO TENNESSEE'S ZEROTUITION, COMPETENCY-BASED TEACHER APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM, WHICH IS ADDRESSING CRITICAL EDUCATOR SHORTAGES WHILE SERVING AS A NATIONAL MODEL FOR WORKFORCE INNOVATION. C-BEN HOSTED ITS FLAGSHIP EVENT, CBEXCHANGE, WITH OVER 800 ATTENDEESREFLECTING A 40% GROWTH FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR. WIDELY RECOGNIZED AS THE PREMIER NATIONAL EVENT FOR ALL THINGS COMPETENCY-BASED AND SKILLS-FIRST, CBEXCHANGE FOSTERS FIELD-WIDE COLLABORATION AND SHOWCASES INNOVATIVE PRACTICES. OUR ASIA PACIFIC COUNTERPART CONTINUED TO GROW GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT. OUR COMPETENCY PLATFORM HAS SCALED TO INCLUDE 15 ON-DEMAND COURSES ACROSS MULTIPLE CBE TOPICS, DELIVERED THROUGH TWO CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS AND THREE MICRO-CERTIFICATES. THESE OFFERINGS ALLOW US TO PROVIDE FLEXIBLE, ACCESSIBLE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING FOR EDUCATORS AND LEADERS. WE HAVE OVER 5,000 MEMBERS IN OUR NETWORK-WHILE MOST ARE IN A NO-COST MEMBERSHIP TIER, THE BROAD ENGAGEMENT REFLECTS GROWING INTEREST IN SKILLSFIRST APPROACHES ACROSS EDUCATION, WORKFORCE, AND POLICY SECTORS. WE ALSO STREAMLINED OUR MEMBERSHIP STRUCTURE AND CONFERENCE REGISTRATION PROCESS TO ENHANCE THE MEMBER EXPERIENCE AND OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY. IN SUMMARY, C-BEN'S WORK OVER THE PAST YEAR HAS FURTHER SOLIDIFIED OUR POSITION AS A NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL LEADER IN COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATION. WITH INCREASING DEMAND FOR SCALABLE, WORKFORCE-ALIGNED LEARNING MODELS, WE REMAIN COMMITTED TO ADVANCING SOLUTIONS THAT BENEFIT ALL LEARNERS AND SUPPORT ECONOMIC MOBILITY THROUGH SKILL DEVELOPMENT.