COMPETENCY- BASED STUDENT ASSESSMENT IN ONLINE AND IN-PERSON MASTER OF PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAMS

Assessment of student learning is a foundation of the US education system. Student assessment in graduate education in particular has an essential role in ensuring that individuals who obtain a degree have the knowledge and skills necessary to perform as competent practitioners in their profession. Competency-based learning and assessment focuses on how well students apply knowledge and demonstrate an ability to perform professional skills. The Master of Public Health (MPH) director and concentration directors worked within the existing core curriculum to integrate and assess the new foundational competencies. The MPH director works with instructors, program directors, and department chairs to enhance competency attainment in core courses where needed, ensuring that the program produces MPH graduates who have demonstrated the foundational competencies. By establishing a curriculum revision implementation team to integrate new competencies into the MPH program, the University at Buffalo’s MPH program effectively migrated from a content-based to a competency-based curriculum.