Competency-based Platform Market for Higher Education in the US 2016-2020

Overview of the competency-based education market for higher education in the US

Market research analysts at Technavio have predicted that the competency-based education market for higher education in the US will grow steadily during the predicted period and will post an impressive CAGR of more than 22% by 2020. This market research analysis identifies the constant rise in student debts owing to the expensive traditional education programs as one of the primary factors that will have a positive impact on the growth of this market. The considerable increase in student debts in the US has resulted in affecting the financial security and the disposable income of the young generation. This will induce students to look for alternative education programs. Competency-based education is self-paced and online and offers several advantages over the traditional educational model. Also, competency-based degree programs grant credits through multiple channels, such as prior learning assessments, work experience, and credit mobility for transferring credits, which significantly reduces the cost of completing a degree. For instance, the competency-based Bachelor of Administration (BBA) program at Brandman University comes with embedded content and costs only around USD 13,500, which is significantly lesser than the fee for traditional courses.

The emergence of learning relationship management systems is identified as one of the major trends that will gain traction in this market during the next four years. Learning relationship management systems are software tools that can be used to measure students’ progress by tracking the mastery of competency, in real-time. This will enable instructors to effectively create, design, and manage competency-based learning and also helps in ensuring that the best ideas are accessible to both the educators and the students.

Competitive landscape and key vendors

Though characterized by the presence of a number of players, the market is dominated by vendors who are leaders in offering several educational technology solutions such as learning management system (LMS), assessment tools, adaptive learning platforms, student information systems, and learning analytics. Few vendors have started creating distinguished offerings to cater to the competency-based education model, whereas several other vendors are adapting their existing offerings with features that cater to competency-based education. The expected increase in the number of higher educational institutions switching from the traditional education paradigm to competency-based education will intensify the competition among vendors. As a result, vendors will start offering easy customization services at affordable prices to address the unique needs of their target customers, which in turn, will help them sustain the market competition.

The leading vendors in the market are -

• BNED LoudCloud
• D2L
• Ellucian
• Flat World Education

The other prominent vendors in the market are Articulate, Blackboard, Edmodo, Fidelis Education, Fishtree, itslearning, Knewton, Motivis Learning, Saba, and Schoology.

Segmentation by product and analysis of the competency-based education market for higher education in the US

• Competency-based education technologies
• Competency-based technologies platforms

This market research and analysis predicts that the competency-based education technologies segment will dominate the market throughout the forecast period and also estimates this market segment to account for almost 59% of the total market shares by 2020. The segment includes supportive educational technology systems such as student information system, LMS, assessment tools, learning analytics software, and adaptive learning platform to implement competency-based training programs in institutions. The increasing adoption of competency-based education model will result in the entry of new vendors, which in turn, will propel the growth of this market segment in the coming years.

Key questions answered in the report include

• What will the market size and the growth rate be in 2020?
• What are the key factors driving the competency-based education market for higher education in the US?
• What are the key market trends impacting the growth of the competency-based education market for higher education in the US?
• What are the challenges to market growth?
• Who are the key vendors in the competency-based education market for higher education in the US?
• What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in the competency-based education market for higher education in the US?
• Trending factors influencing the market shares of the US.
• What are the key outcomes of the five forces analysis of the competency-based education market for higher education in the US?

Technavio also offers customization on reports based on specific client requirement.

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