Inside Syllabus: AACN Celebrates National Nurses' Month

Inside this Syllabus Edition:

• Nurses Month Supplement: Highlights from our Member Schools and Vendor Partners
• Register Now for the Access, Connection, Engagement Symposium
• Q&A with Charla Long, Competency-Based Education Network
• Highlights from the Deans Annual Meeting
• AACN Policy Watch & The Face of Academic Nursing
• Apply Now for an AACN Faculty Scholars Grant
• Advancing Academic Leadership for Deans Graduates

Q&A with Charla Long

What sparked your interest in moving from law to education?

Education has always been part of my story. I come from a family of educators—my father was a K-12 school superintendent, and my mother spent over 30 years teaching first grade. Growing up, I saw firsthand the impact that a caring educator could have on a student's life. During college, I had the opportunity to work closely with the president of my undergraduate institution, which deepened my interest in school administration and the broader world of education.

My professional background was originally in law, focused on hospitality and tourism—particularly the theme park industry, which was a fascinating niche. But life has a way of steering you in new directions. I married a Michigander, and as you can imagine, there weren’t many theme parks in Michigan in need of legal counsel! That twist of fate led me to Grand Valley State University, where I began teaching in the Hospitality and Tourism Management program. To my surprise and delight, I completely fell in love with it.

What made it so special to me was the opportunity to help shape the lives of others—to be a small part of their story as they built their futures. I quickly discovered that I loved not only the energy of the classroom, but also the one-on-one mentoring of students just starting out in their careers. That ability to teach, guide, and encourage others has been one of the greatest joys of my professional life.

How do you define competency-based education (CBE) and how does the learner benefit?

At its heart, competency-based education (CBE) is focused on what someone knows and can do, not just what courses they’ve taken or how much time they’ve spent in a classroom. It shifts the emphasis away from traditional inputs—like seat time, credit hours, or the name of an instructor—and instead centers on the true outputs: the knowledge, skills, abilities, and intellectual behaviors a person can actually demonstrate. This shift is powerful for learners. It not only builds their competence—what they can do—but also strengthens their confidence—their belief in themselves and their readiness to apply what they’ve learned in the real world. CBE recognizes that learning isn’t just about checking boxes; it’s about becoming capable and prepared for whatever challenges and opportunities come next.

What is the mission and purpose of C-BEN?

C-BEN’s mission is to catalyze a competency- and skills-first society for all individuals by equipping those who serve them with the educational supports and resources needed to expand equitable work-learn pathways. We believe learning—not time—should be the measure of educational progress.

C-BEN was born out of a need for connection. In 2012, Lumina Foundation found that early innovators in competency-based education were building models in isolation, facing complex challenges around curriculum, assessment, financial aid, and accreditation. From that need, a spirit of collaboration emerged, and in 2017, C-BEN officially launched as a community of innovators dedicated to advancing CBE.

Today, C-BEN is much more than a network. We are the bridge between education and workforce, bringing together leaders across sectors to meet the skills moment. We work wherever skills are needed—offering trusted resources, building ecosystems, and helping partners create pathways that are truly skills-first. Together, we’re shaping a future where every learner can thrive.

In its first decade, how has C-BEN impacted the higher education landscape?

A decade ago, CBE was a new and largely unfamiliar idea that few institutions were seriously considering. Today, there are thousands of CBE programs across the United States and around the world. While C-BEN doesn’t claim credit for this growth, we are proud to have helped shape and strengthen the broader education ecosystem.

From the start, our focus has been on empowering learners—giving them greater agency through flexible, personalized pathways that prioritize what they know and can do. We helped put a meaningful stake in the ground with the development of the Quality Framework for CBE Programs, ensuring that as the field expanded, quality and learner-centered design remained at the core. This commitment to quality has kept bad actors at bay and allowed CBE to mature responsibly.

Today, C-BEN is recognized as the trusted source for all things CBE. We are a highly respected partner to employers, industry associations, government entities, and institutions alike, offering not just expertise but also practical tools, strategic guidance, and a commitment to advancing a skills-first future. We are honored to serve as a bridge across sectors, helping drive meaningful change for learners everywhere.

Which disciplines are leading when it comes to CBE? Are there any lessons for other fields to consider?

Nursing is certainly leading the way, thanks in large part to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and its Essentials framework, which has helped bring competency-based education to the forefront in that field. Other health-related disciplines, like physical therapy, have also made significant strides. Beyond health care, fields such as information technology, computer science, education, business, engineering, and the trades—especially welding and advanced manufacturing—have embraced CBE as a natural fit.

There are some important lessons other disciplines can take from these successes. First, it’s critical to have multiple champions on campus. CBE can't just be someone's pet project; it needs broad leadership and faculty support to truly take root and thrive. It also flourishes in industries where there are clearly defined competencies or established expectations for what a credential should represent—nursing’s Essentials are a perfect example of how this kind of clarity can accelerate adoption.

Another lesson: collaboration matters. Designing CBE programs is heavy work, and there are plenty of learners to serve. Partnering with peers across institutions can help share the lift and improve the quality of programs for everyone. Finally, employer engagement is vital. Employers are the ones hiring our graduates—they can help define competencies, co-create authentic assessments, and provide real-world learning experiences to prepare learners for life beyond college.

What is CompetentU and how can faculty benefit from this program?

CompetentU is the only online, on-demand learning and development experience of its kind—a competency-based environment that both models and teaches the principles of CBE and skills-based program design. It’s built to be practical, flexible, and accessible, whether someone is new to competency-based education or already familiar and looking to deepen their expertise.

Through CompetentU, faculty and other learners can explore how to understand, create, and launch competency- and skills-based education initiatives in their classrooms or workforce programs—with no prior knowledge required. It’s a resource designed to meet people where they are and help them grow confidently into this important work.

C-BEN currently offers both individual courses and a certificate through CompetentU, including:

• Foundational Course: Powering a Skills-First Society with Competency-Based Approaches
• Certificate Program: Designing Competency-Based Learning Solutions for Adults
• Crafting Competencies That Empower Economic Mobility
• Setting Shared Expectations Using an Evidence-Based Approach
• Validating Competence Through Performance-Based Assessments
• Building Transformative Learning Journeys

For faculty especially, CompetentU offers not just knowledge but inspiration—helping them design learning experiences that are deeply meaningful, outcomes-driven, and aligned with the skills learners need to succeed beyond the classroom.

What impact has the endorsement of the Essentials had on the adoption of CBE?

The impact has been transformational. The Essentials didn’t just accelerate the adoption of CBE in nursing—they gave it focus, urgency, and a clear, unifying vision. Without the Essentials, nursing education would have continued to evolve, but not with the same purposefulness or relevance we see today.

By establishing national standards for the competencies every nursing graduate should possess, the Essentials have created a powerful anchor for consistency across programs. They’ve strengthened the bridge between education and practice, giving employers greater confidence in the readiness of the nurses they hire. Most importantly, they have raised the bar for the profession itself—ensuring that new nurses are not only academically prepared, but practice-ready from day one.

This shift doesn’t just benefit institutions or employers; it leads to better care for patients, stronger communities, and a more resilient, empowered nursing workforce. It’s hard to overstate the importance of that impact—the Essentials have changed the future of nursing education for the better.

How would you assess nursing’s progress in transitioning to CBE?

Progress across nursing schools is varied—and that's to be expected with a transition of this magnitude. Some schools are just beginning to explore what CBE could look like for them, while others are further along, actively redesigning their programs around a true competency-based approach.

We've had the privilege of partnering with AACN to offer workshops to more than two-thirds of its member schools, and through that work, we’ve seen firsthand the energy, creativity, and commitment that so many faculty and leaders are bringing to this shift. Regardless of where a school is in the journey, the most important thing is to persevere—to keep pushing forward toward a truly outcomes-focused model that puts learners and patient care at the center. Change of this scale isn’t easy, but it is absolutely worth it.

What advice do you have for nursing schools on the fence about moving to CBE?

We’ve all seen the statistics. Over 90% of nurses aren't considered practice-ready on day one, and nearly 40% of today’s nurses is expected to leave the workforce. The bottom line is clear: what we’re doing today isn’t working as well as it needs to. We need more nurses who are both confident and competent — ready to meet the demands of real-world practice from the start.

CBE offers a clear path toward these outcomes. My advice is simple: don't feel like you have to overhaul everything at once. Start small. Bring your faculty together and have an honest conversation about the competencies and sub-competencies—what they truly mean at your institution. Explore how much variation currently exists in expectations across courses and instructors. Then ask: what would it mean for our learners if we aligned more consistently around shared expectations?

Small steps like these build momentum and lay the foundation for the transformational work ahead. The future of nursing depends on us being bold enough to rethink how we prepare the next generation—and CBE gives us a powerful way forward.

Looking ahead, what trends are you seeing that will shape the future of higher education?

While it’s hard to predict exactly where higher education is headed, one thing is clear: learners are demanding more flexible, stackable pathways. The traditional, one-size-fits-all approach is giving way to models that allow individuals to build skills and credentials over time—in ways that fit their lives and goals.

In nursing, we’re seeing strong momentum for progression models that create clear, flexible on-ramps. We’re honored to be helping states with pathways that models move learners from beginning to more advanced roles, because they meet learners where they are and recognize the value of every credential earned.

The key to success will be anchoring these pathways to strong frameworks like The Essentials, ensuring that every step is meaningful. When learners can see a direct line from where they are to where they want to be—and know that every skill counts—it fuels persistence, builds confidence, and creates a stronger workforce for the future.