The importance of Competence-based Higher Education has increased in recent years as a result of the 
process of adaptation of universities to the European Higher Education Area. The new study 
programmes of Grado and Master emphasize on learning outcomes that students obtain after their 
studies, as opposed to the previous degrees, mainly focused on the acquisition of knowledge. This change 
of approach implies a need for a methodological change, not only regarding the definition and planning 
of the academic resources but also related to the selection of new teaching methods. In this context, 
some university professors are already wondering whether the traditional modes of teaching and learning 
are appropriate to meet these new circumstances and consequently they are gradually introducing 
methodological innovations, based on the so-called active learning contexts.

In the next years universities are expected to plan and manage this change towards this new 
methodological approach from the institutional level. However, the responsibility for implementation in 
practice of such plans eventually rests on professors. Sometimes this situation involves an additional 
difficulty to their work, as they feel some lack of training to develope their daily tasks with this new 
approach. Therefore, research about teaching - learning skills in university seems to be absolutely 
necessary in order to facilitate the assimilation of the methodological innovations and prevent the 
adaptation of old study programmes becomes a mere aesthetic and formal adjustment of the traditional 
modes of teaching and learning.

The aim of this work is to model these processes of teaching and learning for the acquisition of 
competencies in Higher Education, taking into consideration how different factors related to the 
academic and personal environment of students could influence the final achievement of learning 
outcomes. With this aim, it is exposed an extensive review of the concepts of competence and learning 
approach, and a description of the university academic contexts and models of teaching and learning in 
Higher Education.

Secondly, each of the relationships between competencies acquired during Higher Education and the 
different factors belonging to the academic and personal environment of student is analyzed. 
Additionally the effect of effect modifiers, such as the field of study, is studied. This effect is mainly 
focused on the introduction of relations of interaction and confusion between variables.

Finally, after examining the relationships between contextual factors of students, the measuring 
instruments used in the REFLEX Project have been validated. This instruments are based on different 
modes of teaching and learning used by professors and competencies acquired at University. In this stage 
Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Measurement Invariance techniques have been applied. In both cases 
the fit of these measurement models has been considered excellent or very high. From here on, a 
structural model has been proposed, based on previous researches and exploratory analysis. This model 
has been successfully applied to different fields of study and the differences between universities have 
been valued as no significant. The fit of this model has been considered good, considering the increase of 
complexity regarding to the previous models. Specifically for the Science field some changes to the basic 
model have been suggested from an exploratory point of view. These modifications is consistent with the 
learning environment in this field of study.