UPCEA in the News

University of Texas System Bets Big on Microcredentials (Inside Higher Ed)

September 14, 2023

As the saying goes, everything is bigger in Texas. And now going big applies to microcredentials. The University of Texas System, spanning nine academic campuses with roughly 240,000 students, is expanding its partnership with microcredential provider Coursera. The initiative announced last month is Coursera’s largest, aiming to reach 30,000 students with 35 courses by 2025.…

How Education Leaders Think Generative AI Will Impact Classroom Learning (CB&A)

May 10, 2023

With the recent launch of ChatGPT, generative artificial intelligence entered the chat (pun intended) in a big way, and commentators immediately expressed concern about plagiarism and other forms of cheating in the classroom. Since those early days, the conversation about how these new generative AI tools will disrupt classroom teaching and learning has broadened. Bigger…

Despite high interest, continuing education programs are sputtering (University Business)

March 23, 2023

Professional continuing education looked particularly enticing to colleges and universities in the wake of the pandemic and the staggering enrollment numbers that followed. With traditional enrollment taking a hit, higher education had to find new avenues to enroll learners, and these types of programs seemed to provide the flexibility that fits into almost every lifestyle.…

Colleges want to expand continuing education but don’t devote resources, survey says (Higher Ed Dive)

March 23, 2023

Dive Brief: Continuing and online education programs offered by traditional brick-and-mortar colleges endure staffing issues, high administrative workloads and challenges accessing real-time student data. That’s according to an annual survey from the University Professional and Continuing Education Association, and Modern Campus, a higher ed software provider. Among surveyed college employees, 71% said their institutions’ senior leaders supported…

Continuing-education leaders need more data and better tech, says report (EdScoop)

March 23, 2023

The continuing education arms of colleges and universities are poorly integrated into institutional systems and resources, according to survey findings published Wednesday by the software firm Modern Campus. Non-degree credentials and certificates are an important revenue stream for universities and colleges, but many continuing education leaders said they don’t have enough staff, systems or investment,…

As Colleges Focus on Quality in Online Learning, Advocates Ask: What About In-Person Courses? (The Chronicle of Higher Education)

March 6, 2023

As colleges’ online catalogs grow, so too has the push to develop standards of quality for those courses. But are in-person classes getting the same attention? If you ask many online-education advocates, the answer is “no.” While decades of research and the pandemic-spurred expansion of online learning have helped demystify it and build confidence in…