Jobs for the Future (JFF) is leading an effort to explore how competency-based education (CBE) can be adapted to meet the needs of underprepared adult learners, in order to help members of this large and economically vulnerable group earn college credentials and advance in the U.S. workforce. With support from the ECMC Foundation, JFF is reaching out to national experts, policymakers, and practitioners to help identify key issues that can frame a national conversation about expanding and strengthening CBE for students who have been historically underrepresented in higher education. This series of papers, "Next-Generation CBE: Designing Competency-based Education for Underprepared College Learners," zeros in on a practical, but complex, question: What specific design elements and policy changes are needed to realize the potential of CBE for the nation's underprepared college students? This series recommends specific features likely to help more students master college-ready skills, persist in their postsecondary studies, and complete credentials. The goal is to encourage colleges to begin experimenting with CBE as a potential means to better serve students who qualify for enrollment in developmental education courses. This brief focuses on establishing which developmental education redesign model makes the most sense to use to pilot CBE strategies. The rest of the series will address intake and placement, curriculum, assessment, instruction, and support services.