From Classroom Hours To Competencies: How WGU And Calbright Build Value For Working Learners
Tue Jan 27 2026
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Skills without progress are just potential. We sat down with WGU Provost Courtney Hills McBeth and Calbright College President and CEO Ajita Talwalker Menon to break down how competency-based education turns learning into jobs, promotions, and lasting economic value for working adults. No hype—just practical models that measure what you can do, not how long you sat in class.
We dig into two complementary approaches: WGU’s course-based CBE that maps to the credit hour, and Calbright’s direct assessment for short-term, skills-forward credentials. Both start from the same promise: meet learners where they are, honor prior knowledge, and personalize the path using AI, data dashboards, and one-to-one mentorship. You’ll hear how faculty roles are redesigned around proactive support, how pacing flexes with life and work, and how durable skills like problem solving and communication anchor technical training to outlast industry shifts.
Economic mobility runs through every choice. WGU won’t launch programs without strong regional job demand and tracks factored graduate return to keep tuition low and value high. Calbright broadens the definition of outcomes to include wage gains, career pivots, benefits, and flexibility—because security is more than a paycheck. We also spotlight embedded work-based learning at scale: simulations, micro-internships, clinicals, and teacher apprenticeships at WGU, plus Calbright’s Career Bridge projects with partners like Riipen and HubSpot that produce real portfolio artifacts and references.
Accreditation is changing, too. Our guests outline why quality assurance must recognize multiple pathways to outcomes, support speed to market for workforce-aligned programs, and evaluate direct assessment with clear standards. Finally, we talk partnerships—WGU and Calbright are building seamless pathways from short-term credentials to degrees, while employers and rural communities signal where talent is needed most.
If you care about adult learners, ROI, and making education count at work, this conversation is your playbook. Subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a review to help more people find the show.
WGU.edu
Calbright.edu
eloy@4leggedmedia.com
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Send us a text Skills without progress are just potential. We sat down with WGU Provost Courtney Hills McBeth and Calbright College President and CEO Ajita Talwalker Menon to break down how competency-based education turns learning into jobs, promotions, and lasting economic value for working adults. No hype—just practical models that measure what you can do, not how long you sat in class. We dig into two complementary approaches: WGU’s course-based CBE that maps to the credit hour, and Calbright’s direct assessment for short-term, skills-forward credentials. Both start from the same promise: meet learners where they are, honor prior knowledge, and personalize the path using AI, data dashboards, and one-to-one mentorship. You’ll hear how faculty roles are redesigned around proactive support, how pacing flexes with life and work, and how durable skills like problem solving and communication anchor technical training to outlast industry shifts. Economic mobility runs through every choice. WGU won’t launch programs without strong regional job demand and tracks factored graduate return to keep tuition low and value high. Calbright broadens the definition of outcomes to include wage gains, career pivots, benefits, and flexibility—because security is more than a paycheck. We also spotlight embedded work-based learning at scale: simulations, micro-internships, clinicals, and teacher apprenticeships at WGU, plus Calbright’s Career Bridge projects with partners like Riipen and HubSpot that produce real portfolio artifacts and references. Accreditation is changing, too. Our guests outline why quality assurance must recognize multiple pathways to outcomes, support speed to market for workforce-aligned programs, and evaluate direct assessment with clear standards. Finally, we talk partnerships—WGU and Calbright are building seamless pathways from short-term credentials to degrees, while employers and rural communities signal where talent is needed most. If you care about adult learners, ROI, and making education count at work, this conversation is your playbook. Subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a review to help more people find the show. WGU.edu Calbright.edu eloy@4leggedmedia.com