Navigating the Triad: Student Access, Affordability, and Labor Market Preparation in Competency-Based Online Higher Education

This research brief critically examines competency-based online higher education through the lens of an "accessibility triad" encompassing student access, affordability, and labor market preparation. Drawing on historical context and integrating theoretical frameworks including constructivism, andragogy, heutagogy, and critical perspectives on power in competency definition, the analysis reveals both transformative potential and significant limitations of CBE models. Evidence from successful implementations (Western Governors University, Southern New Hampshire University) and discontinued programs (Queensborough Community College) demonstrates varied outcomes across student populations, challenging monolithic claims about CBE effectiveness. The research reveals critical tensions: subscription pricing models benefit rapid completers while potentially disadvantaging slower-paced learners; prior learning assessment processes may reproduce existing inequities without intentional intervention; and micro credentials show differential labor market value across fields and demographic groups. The brief concludes that successful CBE implementation requires robust support infrastructures, purposeful technology integration, transparent assessment frameworks, sustainable financial models, attention to faculty implications, and embedded equity considerations—recognizing that these models represent particular educational values that exist alongside other legitimate approaches to higher education.