(b) “Competencies” are the integration of knowledge, skills, and attitudes in complex ways that require multiple elements of learning. Competencies represent the acquisition of knowledge, skills, abilities and intellectual behaviors that reflect the balancing of theory and application present in a demonstration of mastery.

(c) “Competency-Based Education Program Map” means a description of the direct assessment competency-based education program and shall specify all elements defined in this article.

(d) “Direct assessment competency-based education” in the California community colleges is an intentional outcomes-based and equity-minded approach to earning a college degree in which the expectations of learning are held constant, but time is variable through a flexible, self-paced, high-touch and innovative learning practice.

(e) “Direct assessment program” has the same meaning as in Title 34, Section 668.10, of the Code of Federal Regulations, and is a program that, in lieu of credit or clock hours as the measure of student learning, utilizes direct assessment of student learning, or recognizes the direct assessment of student learning by others. The assessment must be consistent with the accreditation of the institution or program utilizing the results of the assessment.

(f) “Direct assessment of student learning” has the same meaning as in Title 34, Section 668.10, of the Code of Federal Regulations, and means a measure of a student's knowledge, skills, and abilities designed to provide evidence of the student's proficiency in the relevant subject area.

(g) “Disproportionately Impacted” in broad terms is a condition where access to key resources and supports or academic success may be hampered by inequitable practices, policies, and approaches to student support or instructional practices affecting a specific group. For the purpose of targeted outreach and evaluation for direct assessment competency-based education, disproportionate impact is when the percentage of persons from a particular racial, ethnic, gender. age, or disability group has educational attainment and outcomes significantly different from the representation of that group in the student population, and that discrepancy is not justified by empirical evidence.

(h) “Equity” is the condition under which individuals are provided the resources they need to have access to the same opportunities as the general population. Equity accounts for systematic inequalities, meaning the distribution of resources provides more for those who need it most. Conversely, equality indicates uniformity where everything is evenly distributed among people.

(i) “Mastery” means a student has mastered the competency by meeting or exceeding the minimum requirement of 80 percent or higher on the summative assessment.

(j) “Module” means a curriculum framework for the delivery of learning and assessments tied to measurable competencies leading to mastery. Modules are organized, bundled, and sequenced within a program. A program is “offered in modules” if the program uses a standard term or nonstandard-term academic calendar, is not a subscription-based program, and a course or courses in the program do not span the entire length of the period of enrollment.