The cost of a college degree has caused students, higher education institutions, and government representatives to investigate alternative education designs that are advertised as cheaper, more flexible, and based on skills rather than classroom seat time. Students question the rising cost of tuition, increased time to degree completion, and the value of a degree with traditional educational designs. This has created an increase in interest by students to enroll in competency-based education (CBE) programs due to their affordability and flexibility. Students see the advantage of faster progress towards their academic goal through CBE and therefore, a lower cost of a college education (Kelchen, 2015; Klein-Collins, 2013).Higher education institutions are under pressure from lawmakers, industry, and students to more closely examine implementation of competency-based programs but are challenged by the perceived limitations and restrictions of an adoption. Colleges struggle to implement a CBE program and seek guidance to address the existing organizational constraints and hurdles such as students' financial aid and assistance, accreditation requirements, transcribing credit, and faculty workloads (Garret & Lurie, 2016; Kelchen, 2015; Klein-Collins, 2013).This qualitative study examined and described the strategies used to overcome identified obstacles to implement a CBE model, referred to as "open-entry," "closed-exit," at a mountain west region community college. This study also provides recommendations for the implementation of an open-entry, closed-exit model. The findings suggest that based on the CBE model implemented for this case study, accreditation and financial aid were not obstacles. The added workload in the admissions registration department, student management systems, and faculty were found to be obstacles for which the college created solutions. Other factors that appeared to influence the open-entry, closed-exit model was the exclusion of the accreditation, veterans, and advising departments in any design or implementation strategies. Additional considerations that appeared to influence program design were the resources available from the college's Trades Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) grant to fund the design, purchase curriculum, and pay for additional staffing. Additionally, the strategy of visiting a similar program at another college was very useful in creating a shared vision for those departments who sent representation. (Finally), this case study found CBE programs were uniquely designed to serve the needs of their college. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]