CBTE 2021 CONFERENCE

Our vision for this conference is to:

  • Assemble the growing community of educators who are interested in or committed to competency-based theological education
  • Bring together people with CBTE ideas and experience, and explore latest research, recommendations, and best-practices
  • Share insights and opportunities to learn from experts and those initiating/leading new programs
  • Offer those interested in CBTE the opportunity to explore it within the broader context of CBE, identifying similarities and differences between the two models
  • Report on current CBTE programs, statistics, and outcomes from the perspective of employers, students, school administration and faculty
  • Provide opportunity for attendees to network and build new connections
  • Continue to develop a network of colleagues interested in receiving ongoing communication on the advancement, design, development, and implementation of high-quality CBTE programs
  • Foster collaboration on CBTE programs and alignment across institutional and denominational boundaries
  • Have participants leave with a clear sense of what CBTE is, its potential benefits, and what’s needed to transition programs from a traditional model to CBTE model

Recognized as an innovator in CBTE, Northwest Baptist Seminary (NBS) received an ATS Educational Models and Practices Innovation Grant to host the first International Conference on Competency-Based Theological Education (CBTE 2018). This conference, hosted in November 2018, sought to share ideas and learnings with other theological institutions to help establish and sustain CBTE practices within the broader world of theological education.

One exciting outcome of the conference was the development of a CBTE Advocacy Group comprised of those passionate about the value and potential of CBTE. The Competency-Based Education Network (C-BEN), recognizing much overlap between CBTE and CBE (competency-based education), offered the CBTE Advocacy Group the opportunity to run a dedicated CBTE track at their annual CBExchange conference in 2019. This allowed us to continue our vision for the initial conference, while allowing us access to over 100+ sessions from leading minds in CBE.

The combined CBTE 2019/CBExchange 2019 conferences were a big hit to both CBTE and C-BEN participants. The opportunity to share and learn from experiences and models across disciplines was considered invaluable and participants from both groups requested the events combine again.