Major Updates
- Accreditation, Foreign Support, Skill-Based Learning Addressed in New Trump Executive Orders
The Trump administration has continued issuing an unprecedented number of executive orders with recent directives directly impacting colleges and universities, addressing topics like accreditation reform, foreign influence, skills-based learning (including alternative credentials), and support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Two executive orders likely to significantly affect UPCEA members are those concerning accreditation and skills-based learning.
President Trump’s recent executive order on accreditation seeks a substantial overhaul of the current system. Notably, it proposes eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) mandates, instead placing greater emphasis on student outcomes and institutional accountability. This order explicitly seeks to reduce ideological influences in accreditation by threatening “denial, monitoring, suspension, or termination of accreditation recognition” for accreditors who fail to adhere strictly to newly defined recognition criteria and by prioritizing “intellectual diversity.” Building upon trends to influence accreditation which were initiated during Trump’s first term, this measure explicitly encourages accreditors to approve only institutions offering “high-quality, high-value academic programs” and to reduce barriers that limit the adoption of innovative educational models focused on credential and degree completion. Additionally, the administration intends to launch an experimental site to pilot “new flexible and streamlined quality assurance pathways.”
Another recent executive order, “Preparing Americans for High-Paying Skilled Trade Jobs of the Future,” aims to reshape federal workforce development by better aligning training initiatives with emerging industry demands, including fields driven by artificial intelligence and sectors critical to the administration’s broader goal of American reindustrialization. The order mandates a comprehensive review intended to consolidate and streamline existing workforce development programs, eliminate ineffective initiatives, and expand Registered Apprenticeships, with a targeted goal of exceeding one million new apprenticeships annually. Crucially for the UPCEA community, this order calls for a strategic evaluation of alternative credentials and assessments as viable alternatives to traditional four-year college degrees, closely matched to specific employer needs—a domain where UPCEA members’ expertise could be particularly valuable.
As with other executive orders issued recently, extensive legal challenges are expected, and the ultimate short- and long-term impacts remain uncertain. Stay tuned for further updates in the months ahead.
- Over 400 Higher Education Presidents and Leaders Call for Constructive Engagement against Unprecedented Government Overreach and Political Interference (AACU)
“As leaders of America’s colleges, universities, and scholarly societies, we speak with one voice against the unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education. We are open to constructive reform and do not oppose legitimate government oversight. However, we must oppose undue government intrusion in the lives of those who learn, live, and work on our campuses. We will always seek effective and fair financial practices, but we must reject the coercive use of public research funding.” Read more.
- Higher Ed Wins a SEVIS Battle, Not the Visa War (Inside Higher Ed)
“International students, colleges and advocates caught a break Friday after weeks of confusion and disruptions. After thousands of students learned their Student Exchange and Visitor Information System status was revoked, they were relieved to hear that Immigration and Customs Enforcement was restoring students’ statuses nationwide. ‘I was in class when the news broke, and there was a sense of relief,’ said Chris. R Glass, a professor at Boston College’s Center for International Higher Education. ‘But it’s not the kind of relief that things are getting better, just that they’re not getting worse.’” Read more.
Following Higher Education Legal + Policy Updates
- Higher Education Litigation Summary {as of April 29} (Thompson Coburn LLP)
“Thompson Coburn’s Higher Education Litigation Summary is your resource for legal updates on key rulings and ongoing cases shaping the higher education sector. This installment covers updates related to Gainful Employment, the Bare Minimum Rule, BDR, Student Loan Forgiveness, Title IX, False Claims Act, Nonprofit Institution Status, Federal Funding Freeze, DEI Executive Orders, the Executive Order Directing the Closure of ED, and Grant Terminations.” Read more. - Tracking Trump’s Higher Ed Agenda (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
Other News
- Department of Education Begins Negotiated Rulemaking for Financial Aid, including Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), Pay As You Earn (PAYE), Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) (Federal Register)
- House Republicans Advance Plan to Upend Student Loans (Inside Higher Ed)
- UPCEA Joins With 100 Other Entities to Sign Budget Request Letter to Congressional Leaders Supporting Funding for Higher Education (Today’s Students Coalition)
- College Financial Aid Hit With Glitches, Delays Due to Federal Staffing Cuts (Washington Post)
- NIH prohibits new grant awards to colleges with DEI initiatives (Higher Ed Dive)
Policy Matters: Primers and Insights
As institutions of higher education continue to innovate with online courses and professional continuing education programs, having a general understanding of the regulatory landscape that such initiatives are subject to is critical to their long-term success. These UPCEA resources provide an introduction to foundational topics in federal legislation and regulations impacting online and professional continuing education for universities and colleges.
- Introduction to the Online Learning Regulatory Landscape
- An Introduction to Negotiated Rulemaking for Higher Education
- Digital Accessibility Requirements for Online Learning
- Marketing Considerations Through the Lens of Regulations, Policies and Compliance
- International Policy Matters to International Program Success
As we approach May, alarm bells are ringing for all colleges and universities to ensure that AI literacy programs have been completed by learners who plan to enter the job market this year and in the future.
The rapid advent of AI capabilities, coupled with the developing economic pressures worldwide, have led to a surge in employers seeking to reduce operating expenses through widespread use of generative and agentic AI to augment, and in some cases, replace, humans in their workforce. This follows last year’s warning from the World Economic Forum that: “AI skills are becoming more important than job experience.” The World Economic Forum report goes on to cite the 2024 Work Trend Index Annual Report which draws on a survey of 31,000 people across 31 countries, hiring trends from LinkedIn, Microsoft 365 productivity data and research with Fortune 500 companies. “Over the past eight years, hiring for technical AI roles was up 323%, and businesses are now turning to non-technical talent with the skills to apply generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Copilot. Two-thirds of business leaders surveyed say they wouldn’t hire a candidate without AI skills. Nearly three-quarters said they would rather hire a less experienced candidate with AI skills than a more experienced candidate without them.”
Writing in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Beth McMurtrie defines AI Literacy: “The term AI literacy can feel squishy. But the definitions circulating among campus working groups, disciplinary associations, and other organizations share several key components. To be AI literate, they agree, you must understand how generative AI works, be able to use it effectively, know how to evaluate its output, and understand its weaknesses and dangers. For AI skeptics, that last point is crucial. Too many workshops stop short, they say, focusing only on how to use AI tools.”
In a survey conducted last November, EDUCAUSE reported only 37% of institutions were supporting needed AI abilities by “upskilling or reskilling” faculty or staff and just one percent reported hiring new AI staff. A larger percentage of faculty and staff were addressing related academic integrity and assessment issues. The EDUCAUSE AI Landscape Study reported:
- Respondents from smaller institutions are remarkably similar to respondents from larger institutions in their personal use of AI tools, their motivations for institutional use of AI, and their expectations and optimism about the future of AI.
- Respondents from small and larger institutions differ notably, however, in the resources, capabilities, and practices they’re able to marshal for AI adoption.
These responses as recently as the end of last semester show that the majority of institutions are lagging behind in preparing themselves, their graduates and certificate completers for the rapid changes that are expected to take place in workplaces around the world over the coming months. Yet, as reported in Government technology, new laws creating frameworks in California and the European Union are leading the way in ensuring learners are well prepared for the emerging workplace:
Under California’s new law, AI literacy education must include understanding how AI systems are developed and trained, their potential impacts on privacy and security, and the social and ethical implications of AI use. The EU goes further, requiring companies that produce AI products to train applicable staff to have the “skills, knowledge and understanding that allow providers, deployers and affected persons … to make an informed deployment of AI systems, as well as to gain awareness about the opportunities and risks of AI and possible harm it can cause.” Both frameworks emphasize that AI literacy isn’t just technical knowledge but about developing critical thinking skills to evaluate AI’s appropriate use in different contexts.
The American Library Association has taken a leading role in developing a draft document “AI Competencies for Academic Library Workers” that is currently under review based upon recommendations made by constituencies in recent weeks. The document includes two sections: “dispositions (tendencies to act or think in a particular way) and competencies (skills, knowledge, behaviors, and abilities). Dispositions are presented as a single list. Competencies are organized into four categories: Knowledge & Understanding; Analysis & Evaluation; Use & Application; and Ethical Considerations.”
In a project backed by a $1 million grant from Google, Government Technology reports that the City University of New York is supporting 75 faculty members to develop teaching methods that support best practices in utilizing AI in higher education, the report goes on to say:
Such initiatives are spreading rapidly across higher education. The University of Florida aims to integrate AI into every undergraduate major and graduate program. Barnard College has created a “pyramid” approach that gradually builds students’ AI literacy from basic understanding to advanced applications. At Colby College, a private liberal arts college in Maine, students are beefing up their literacy with the use of a custom portal that lets them test and compare different chatbots. Around 100 universities and community colleges have launched AI credentials, according to research from the Center for Security and Emerging Technology, with degree conferrals in AI-related fields increasing 120 percent since 2011.
These initiatives are exemplars of a variety of approaches that institutions might consider to respond to the urgent need to prepare learners for the workplace that is so rapidly emerging. Yet, now, as we move into the final weeks of the spring semester, it still appears that many, if not most, of the institutions of higher learning are failing their students. We are failing to fully prepare those students to enter the workforce where, as the World Economic Forum says, two-thirds of business leaders surveyed say they wouldn’t hire a candidate without AI skills and nearly three-quarters said they would rather hire a less experienced candidate with AI skills than a more experienced candidate without them. What is your institution doing to meet this urgent need? Who is leading a university-wide initiative to meet this need? Will your spring graduates and certificate completers be able to compete with others who have credentials that include knowledge and competencies in AI?
This article was originally published on Inside Higher Ed.
‘Strictly online institutions tend to serve working-age or older adults requiring flexible schedules constructed around family obligations and work.
“Folks arrive at higher ed for a multitude of reasons,” says Julie Uranis, senior vice president of online and strategic initiatives for UPCEA (the Online and Professional Education Association), a resource for online university programs.
“Online learning gives them an ability to engage where otherwise they might not be able to simply because of time and schedule and location, and a whole variety of personal factors.”
But the 53.2% that are distance learners also includes more-traditional students at brick-and-mortar colleges.
“Post pandemic, the world has changed,” Uranis says. “More learners are expecting and wanting online learning, even if they’re an 18- to 24-year-old living in the residences on a campus.”’
By Karen Pedersen
As avid backcountry hikers, years ago my family decided it would be prudent to buy a GPS, even though we had a rescue dog with an incredible sense of direction. While many out-and-back or even loop hikes didn’t require high-powered digital GPS coordinates to find our way back to our vehicle, we did appreciate launching the “breadcrumb” feature when we started a hike, since the breadcrumbs highlighted our past steps. We liked it simply because we could quickly and easily take the same path home or find an alternative way back to our vehicle, should the hiking conditions or situation change. On more than one occasion, those breadcrumbs made a difference in the outcome of our trip. Sometimes it just gave us the confidence we needed to know we would find our way back before dark!
I share this story because I believe those GPS breadcrumbs are a great way to also think about one’s professional journey. Throughout our career, each position pursued or held, credential earned, skill acquired, certification achieved, project completed, or even misstep taken leaves breadcrumbs that tell the story of one’s lifelong learning journey of growth and transformation.
When the hike is out-and-back, it is easy! Some aspects of our professional journey fall easily into place as well. While most hiking trails don’t follow a straight line, neither do our careers. Just as GPS recalibrates when the route changes, one’s professional development and career advancement involves constantly updating your internal coordinates and laying out an innovative map focusing on new goals, shifting priorities, emerging challenges and a plethora of learning opportunities. In times of change, it becomes even more critical to reflect on your professional breadcrumbs, seek strategic opportunities for growth, and tell your story anew!
In recent months, as I shifted from an institutional leadership role in higher education to now a higher education consultant, the power of our professional breadcrumbs has come into sharper focus. As I review hundreds of cover letters and resumes for higher education institution clients as a search consultant, I have begun to appreciate and realize just how important a storytelling opportunity this can be. Sometimes I am drawn in, and other times an application package falls short, and I am left with a ‘so what?’ feeling.
Whether you are applying for a new position, pulling together a promotion package, preparing a conference proposal submission, or simply laying out your annual goals/accomplishments, in what ways do you weave your unique lifelong learning breadcrumbs together into a compelling story? When you find yourself in one of these situations or the environment is changing exponentially and you need to recalibrate, here are a few thoughts for you to consider…
- Be Clear and Authentic – Especially About Your Why. Why you, why now, and why are you the difference-maker they need to hire, promote or award a grant to? Let your personality peek through in compelling ways.
- Reflect Growth. Highlight your strengths, learning, and evolution. Where your professional journey has been intentional and strategic, say so. Even detours (most of us have had at least one in our career – a job that wasn’t a good fit or a project that didn’t lead where expected) can show adaptability, resilience, and self-awareness.
- Quantification Matters. It’s not just about what you have done, but why it mattered and how it made a difference. In higher education, sometimes we cannot easily isolate impact. However, numbers make your professional journey real when they are translated into results.
- Highlight Forward Momentum. Expressing a sense of optimism, excitement and confidence showcases your future focus, no matter the situation you find yourself in (e.g., you were downsized, passed over for a promotion, reorganized out of a job, unsuccessful with a past proposal). The energy and drive you share as part of your professional breadcrumbs makes a difference!
In hiking, breadcrumbs highlight your past route, but they can also help to optimize future routes. Likewise, purposefully thinking about and considering your lifelong learning journey can help chart smarter next steps whether in areas of personal growth, professional development, or career advancement. Your best investment…is in you!
The GPS of yesteryear was helpful, but it had its limits. Today, the right GPS watch can not only provide breadcrumb mapping, but record your steps, altitude change, direction, as well as track your heart rate and blood oxygen level, etc. The list of features and options can be overwhelming! Similar to selecting the right GPS watch, carefully consider how you add to your story through the professional development, networking, and mentoring opportunities you choose. Your lifelong learning journey’s breadcrumbs are unique to you and only you can curate the path.
Karen L. Pedersen, Ph.D., is the former Dean of Global Campus and Associate Vice Provost of Academic Innovation at Kansas State University and now a Senior Consultant with Summit Search Solutions, as well as a Strategic Advisor for UPCEA Research and Consulting. To learn more about UPCEA Research and Consulting, please contact [email protected].
As more and more institutions face internal and external pressures to identify and cultivate new revenue streams, many are turning to online and professional continuing education to attract new learners and address fiscal shortfalls. While this continued increase in supply undoubtedly benefits the student, it makes an already saturated market even more competitive. UPCEA’s 2024 Benchmarking Online Enterprises study found that while 67% of institutions expect to obtain greater market share of the online marketplace over the next three years, only 24% of online leaders believe their institution’s approach to marketing online programs is better than their competitors. Additionally, with the increasing influence and permeation of artificial intelligence, and the associated evolving search behaviors of potential students, marketing has become even more indispensable for institutional survival.
-
The average annual total gross revenue for online or professional education units was $28,433,649 with a median of $8,000,000. Not surprisingly, annual gross revenue increased as institution size increased.
-
On average, institutions’ overall annual marketing budget was about $1.2M with a median of $644,000. The average annual marketing budget as a percentage of unit revenue was 11.9% with a median of 5.3%.
-
In 2024, institutions averaged 7.74 full-time or full-time equivalent employees in their marketing departments compared to 6.88 FTEs in 2022, an increase of 0.86 FTEs. There were 5.0 in 2020, 6.40 in 2018, and 6.10 in 2014.
-
Only a third of marketing leaders (32%) agreed that their marketing budget is robust enough to meet the goals of their institution. Additionally, only 28% anticipated their marketing budget will increase year over year for the foreseeable future. Even with this current and anticipated shortfall, 80% agree that their marketing unit will target new segments of students over the next three years. There is some belief (38%) that AI and other emerging technologies will allow marketing teams to stretch marketing budgets over that same time frame.
The technology of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) gained worldwide attention with the initial release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT on November 30, 2022, and it has continued to expand at awesome speed and capability ever since.
This has generated fear and anxiety among some observers and enthusiasm among others. The enthusiasm is for the many ways in AI will improve the lives of people and other life on Earth. The fear is generated by the awesome power and influence this technology may have over our very existence as it addresses such conditions hunger, poverty, and climate changes, at the same time it enhances efficiency and effectiveness across the full spectrum of industry, business and commerce. As reported in Venture Beat, one leader in the field has predicted that AI will be ready to replace an entire country of PhDs as early as next year: “AI will match the collective intelligence of “a country of geniuses” within two years, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has warned in a sharp critique of this week’s AI Action Summit in Paris. His timeline — targeting 2026 or 2027 — marks one of the most specific predictions yet from a major AI leader about the technology’s advancement toward superintelligence.” By comparison, human work and ingenuity may seem awkward, ineffective and counter-productive. Some have wondered if AI would judge humans to be counter-productive to the future of the planet.
It is clear that historically every productive technology has advanced. Even weapons of war have progressed. Technologies have not been denied by humans. For better or worse, if humans have found utility with a technology, they have developed and supported it. We are seeing that on a grand scale with AI. Regarding the newly-released version of Gemini Pro, Wharton Professor and AI expert Ethan Mollick reports in LinkedIn: “Google Gemini 2.5 is the first public AI model to definitively beat the performance of human PhDs with access to Google on hard multiple-choice problems inside their field of expertise (around 81%). All AI tests are flawed, but GPQA Diamond has been a pretty good one & in this case was conducted independently.” Another recent example of the stage of progress is the development of Lindy AI’s development of Agent Swarms. This AI agent can clone itself up to a thousand times to create a swarm of agents that can accomplish massive tasks with a swarm of communicating, cooperating agents that work together on projects. They call it integration supremacy. AI progression continues unabated at breakneck speed. Ever smarter, faster and more dependable than previous models, AI is on an exponential track of improvement. As Kat Davis writes in Sidecar: “The exponential growth of AI is a phenomenon to be both observed and engaged with. By proactively exploring and adopting AI technologies, we can ensure that our organizations not only stay ahead in a rapidly evolving landscape but also harness the full potential of AI to redefine the boundaries of what’s possible. Let’s embrace this transformative journey, with AI as our compass, guiding us towards a future brimming with opportunity and innovation.”
Two major studies were released on April second and April third this year. The first from Elon University, “Imagining the Digital Future,” puts a focus on the impact of technology on humans in the coming decade. “More than 300 experts responded to questions about the impact of change they expect on 12 essential human traits and capabilities by 2035.” They predicted that change brought about by the adoption of AI may be mostly negative in the following nine areas of human life:
- Social and emotional intelligence
- Capacity and willingness to think deeply about complex concepts
- Trust in widely shared norms and values
- Confidence in their native abilities
- Empathy and application of moral judgment
- Mental well-being
- Sense of agency
- Sense of identity and purpose
- Metacognition
Yet, there were areas of optimism, particularly as regards:
- Curiosity and capacity to learn
- Decision-making and problem-solving
- Innovative thinking and creativity
My own contributions to the report tended to be more positive than many of the other contributing experts, perhaps because of my focus on teaching and learning. The authors highlighted my comment: “Affording humans a universe-wide perspective on nearly everything: This will be a dawn of a new Enlightenment that expands our perspectives beyond the individual and the species to a worldwide and perhaps universe-wide perspective. – Ray Schroeder”
The second report that was released the following day, was from Pew Research Center, “How the U.S. Public and AI Experts View Artificial Intelligence.”
The report shows the views of two key groups: the American public and experts in the field of AI. These surveys reveal both deep divides and common ground on AI. AI experts are far more positive than the public about AI’s potential, including on jobs. Yet both groups want more personal control of AI and worry about lax government oversight. Still, opinions among experts vary, with men more optimistic about AI than women…. For example, the AI experts we surveyed are far more likely than Americans overall to believe AI will have a very or somewhat positive impact on the United States over the next 20 years (56% vs. 17%). And while 47% of experts surveyed say they are more excited than concerned about the increased use of AI in daily life, that share drops to 11% among the public.
A core issue of concern among the public is what will happen to jobs and the associated income for families. Entrepreneur Julia McCoy walks through a timeline from 2025 to 2035 as humanity begins to adapt to far fewer jobs due to AI taking over most positions with superior efficiency, effectiveness and far lower costs. In the podcast “Life after AI Takes Our Jobs: The Rocky Road to 2035 (Complete Timeline), McCoy describes the move toward a modified Universal Basic Income (UBI) system in which workers are released part time at first, then possibly full time as time progresses, while continuing to receive an income.
The Stanford Basic Income Lab is studying the possibilities and implications of UBI:
Universal basic income takes on distinct forms in different historical and geographic contexts. It varies based on the funding proposal, the level of payment, the frequency of payment, and the particular policies proposed around it. Each of these parameters are fundamental, even if a range of versions still technically count as UBI (a universal, unconditional, individual, regular and cash payment).
The disruption of AI is not small. We will soon see that it will fully re-write the concepts of employment and salaries. Perhaps various societies will respond in differing ways. There will be periods of anxiety and concern as jobs are replaced by AI.
We must begin to prepare our students for these possibilities. How will they, and their families, respond to job loss, career loss, and a future that is unlikely to ever have a need for the kind of position for which they were prepared in college? This is unsettling and dramatic. But, the rapid evolution of AI will inevitably bring about these challenges. It is incumbent on us in higher education to prepare our students for the near future as the yet-unclear more distant future unfolds.
This article was originally published on Inside Higher Ed.
Washington, D.C. – April 7, 2025 – UPCEA, the leading association for online and professional education, today announced the upcoming retirement of Jim Fong, its founding Chief Research Officer, after years of transformative leadership in the field of higher education research and consulting.
Fong first became involved with UPCEA as a volunteer leader while at Penn State’s World Campus, where he helped elevate the role of data-informed marketing, enrollment management, and new program development in online and professional education.
Since establishing UPCEA Research and Consulting (URC), Fong has been instrumental in developing data-driven insights, pioneering new research methodologies, and fostering strategic partnerships that have elevated UPCEA’s role as a thought leader in online and professional education. His contributions have positioned URC as a trusted resource for institutions navigating the complexities of higher education.
He also helped define UPCEA’s business model for actionable research—offering association-wide studies and affordable custom consulting that has been used by roughly one-third of member institutions.
In recognition of his lasting impact, Fong will be honored with the title of Chief Advisor for Research, Strategy, and Innovation, reflecting his ongoing connection to UPCEA. While he steps back from his day-to-day role, Fong will remain engaged in an advisory capacity, offering insights and contributing to special projects.
“Jim’s visionary leadership has shaped not only UPCEA but the entire landscape of higher education research,” said Bob Hansen, CEO of UPCEA. “His work has strengthened our field, and we are proud to honor his legacy while ensuring a seamless transition for the future of UPCEA Research and Consulting.”
The strength of URC remains steadfast, with a team of experienced professionals—Stacy Chiaramonte, Bruce Etter, Emily West, Scott Hinty, Matt Norsworthy, and additional research assistants—leading its ongoing success. Alongside external subject matter experts, this team will continue to deliver top-tier research and consulting services to support UPCEA members and the broader higher education community.
Fong’s thoughtful succession planning and mentoring of the URC team have ensured a smooth transition and sustained success, empowering the next generation of research leaders within UPCEA. His transition was not only intentional—it’s been effective. Over the past two years, as Jim shifted to a reduced schedule, UPCEA Research and Consulting experienced record growth, with more institutions turning to URC than ever before. This upward trajectory underscores the depth of expertise and readiness of the team he helped build.
For more information about UPCEA Research and Consulting and how it can support your institution, visit upcea.edu/research.
About UPCEA
UPCEA is the online and professional education association. Our members continuously reinvent higher education, positively impacting millions of lives. We proudly lead and support them through cutting edge research, professional development, networking and mentorship, conferences and seminars, and stakeholder advocacy. Our collaborative, entrepreneurial community brings together decision makers and influencers in education, industry, research, and policy interested in improving educational access and outcomes.
Media Contact:
Molly Nelson
VP of Communications
[email protected]
By Emily West
I’ve been through the college enrollment process before, and to be honest, it’s not exactly something that I wish to do again. And yet, as part of my role at UPCEA, I regularly step into the shoes of a prospective student during our Enrollment Process Reviews. These “secret shopper” exercises involve posing as potential applicants and interacting with colleges and universities to evaluate their responsiveness, the clarity and quality of their initial communications, and how they compare to competitors and to UPCEA’s benchmarking averages.
After conducting this exercise for several institutions, a few patterns have emerged. The most effective institutions prioritize responsiveness, quality, and ongoing engagement while avoiding overly complicated processes and impersonal interactions. Below are some key takeaways about what works, what doesn’t, and where institutions might miss the mark with prospective students in the very top of the enrollment funnel.
Timely and Helpful Responses
Institutions that respond to inquiries within a few hours stand out. Those that take a full day or more, especially without providing a detailed answer, risk losing students to more responsive competitors. The efficiency of responses is particularly important for prospective graduate students – a critical market for online offerings. Two-thirds (68%) of graduate students consider three or fewer institutions prior to sending inquiries, and 67% inquire with only one or two institutions.[1] A delay in outreach may deter these inquirers, leading them to explore schools that are more responsive and proactive. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of graduate students said they are more likely to enroll at the institution that first admits them. Furthermore, 19% said conversations with staff or advisors were the most influential factor when choosing between schools, while another 15% cited emails from those institutions. [2]
Nothing makes me more optimistic about a school than a speedy response that directly addresses my question and even goes a step further, such as offering additional resources or asking about my goals. A simple, “Let me know if you have other questions” is a great start, but an overused phase, in my opinion. The best responses feel like they come from a real person who is eager to help, not from a copy-and-paste template. If I ask whether a program has evening classes, I don’t just want a link to a course catalog. I want someone to say, “Yes, we do offer evening classes, and here’s how that might fit into your schedule. Let me know if you’d like help mapping it out.” That kind of response makes me believe that I would be well supported as a student during my academic journey.
Thoughtful Follow-Ups That Add Value
One common mistake that institutions make is assuming that a single response to an inquiry is enough. If I were really exploring my options and inquiring with many different schools, I’d probably forget who I emailed within a few days or lose track of a response in my busy inbox. The institutions that stay on my radar are the ones that send well-timed follow-ups that provide something useful, such as financial aid guidance, upcoming information sessions, or student success stories. The best follow-ups feel like, “Hey, I know you were interested…here’s something cool that might help you decide.” One particularly memorable follow-up came from an institution that shared a brief history of their college mascot. It was fun, lighthearted, and unexpectedly made me feel more connected to the school.
UPCEA’s findings show that universities that incorporate drip campaigns or follow-up emails see higher engagement rates. Conversely, we occasionally come across institutions that fail to follow up at all—meaning prospective students are left without guidance or encouragement to continue their enrollment journey.
Meet Prospective Students Where They Are
Another reoccurring misstep I observe as a secret shopper are institutions that treat every inquiry as a commitment to apply. In these instances, automated responses immediately push application links, skipping over the fact that inquirers may still be in the discovery phase. If the first email I receive after my initial inquiry says, “Congratulations on starting your application!” I immediately feel misunderstood. A better approach acknowledges where students are in their decision-making process. A message like, “We’re excited about your interest! Here’s more information, and let us know how we can help,” is far more inviting and respectful of the student’s timeline.
An Easy and Painless Inquiry Process
Request for information (RFI) forms should be as simple as possible. Yet too often, institutions ask for too much up front—home address, phone number, birthdate, start date preferences—before offering basic answers. Research from UPCEA indicates that only 60% of prospective students are willing to provide their phone number, and just 51% are willing to share their date of birth during this initial communication with an institution.[3] Those requiring unnecessary details at this stage risk deterring prospective students. I’m also a big fan of institutions that embed RFI forms into program landing pages and auto-populate the program field; that creates a smoother experience and reduces frustration. One university we recently reviewed had a three-field RFI form that prefilled program information and included a box for open-ended questions. Chef’s kiss!
Clear and Accessible Contact Options
Automation is helpful, but only up to a point. Students still want (and need) to know they can reach an actual human. Those that clearly list phone numbers, direct email addresses, or offer live chat with staff create a stronger impression of accessibility and care. When contact information is buried or limited to a generic address like [email protected], it signals that personalized support may be hard to come by.
As for chatbots, some are genuinely helpful but many fall short. If it can’t help and simply regurgitates a list of website links (often ones I’ve already looked at), I’m out. A better experience would look like this: I ask a question, the bot makes an attempt to answer, and if it can’t, it offers to connect me with an admissions rep or directs me to live support. That shows me the institution values real engagement and isn’t just trying to automate me out of the conversation.
Leave No Question Unanswered & Take Ownership
This seems basic, but it’s surprising how often it’s overlooked. One of the most important things institutions can do is actually answer the question a student asks. Sometimes I’ll ask a specific question, such as “Does your online program require a residency?” and get back a generic response like, “Thank you for your interest in our university! Click here for more information.” If I need to send an additional follow-up just to get my question answered, I already feel discouraged. The best responses engage with what the student asks, not just direct them to a website. One university in a recent enrollment process review had a very strong response rate—84% of all inquiries received a reply—but only 70% of those replies actually answered the questions asked by our secret shoppers. That gap is a missed opportunity to build trust and demonstrate support.
Equally frustrating is being told to contact someone else. If I ask about transfer credits and get a response that says, “You’ll need to email the registrar’s office for that information,” I feel dismissed. The best institutions take ownership: either answer directly or forward the inquiry internally. Don’t make the student do the legwork of navigating your internal systems. That small act of service signals that you care about the student experience from day one.
Final Thoughts
If I were a real prospective student, my decision to enroll would be heavily influenced by how I was treated during the inquiry process. Did the institution respond quickly? Did they answer my questions? Did they make me feel welcomed and supported? The schools that stand out in these enrollment process reviews are the ones that make the process feel effortless, personal, and even energizing. They make me forget, if only for a moment, that this is just a research exercise.
When institutions get their earliest enrollment communications right, they don’t just increase engagement and conversion, they build trust. They make students feel confident that they’ll be supported not just at the start, but throughout their educational journey.
[1] https://insights.educationdynamics.com/modern-learner-report-2025.html
[2] Ibid
[3] The Six Personas of the New Learner: Changing Motivations and Situations of the New Learner Landscape (UPCEA & ThinkingCap, 2021)
The 2025 State of Continuing Education study examines the evolving role of online and professional continuing education (PCE) units in higher education, focusing on program offerings, institutional support, technology integration, and collaboration across academic units.-
Collaboration with online and PCE units for continuing education has increased, but administrative burden remains a top challenge.
-
5,500: Median online and PCE unit enrollment
-
8%: Increase in collaboration with other units, schools, or colleges for CE programming
-
48%: Agree it is easy to access real-time enrollment data
The field of higher education is notoriously slow to change. Yet, when faced with the extraordinary challenges of today, our associations are quick to foster support, collaboration and unity.
I just returned from the UPCEA Annual Conference held in Denver. A record attendance of some 1,300 administrators, faculty and staff from member institutions gathered to share policies, practices, innovations and knowledge in advancing the mission of higher education in 2025. It was a thriving and exciting environment of energy and enthusiasm in seeking solutions to challenges that confront us today and into the future.
Recent policy shifts regarding the federal funding of grants provided by the institutes and foundations that support university research were on the minds of most who attended. These topics provided the undercurrent of discussions in many of the sessions. The spirit was one of supporting each other in advancing their initiatives despite the prospect of cuts in federal support. The confluence of the demographic enrollment cliff of college-bound students due to the drop in births during the previous recession of 2007-2009 and additional promised cuts in funding from federal and many state sources, created an environment for collaboration on solving shared challenges rivaled only by that of the Covid-19 pandemic.
A number of the sessions addressed innovations with cost savings, efficiencies, and effectiveness gains that can be realized by thoughtfully introducing Artificial Intelligence (AI) into supporting many aspects of the higher education mission. The potential savings are significant if they can take over duties of positions that become vacant or instances where staff are better utilized by shifting their efforts elsewhere.
By Fall 2025, readily available AI tools will be able to serve in course development, delivery and assessment:
- Conceive, design, create, online (even self-paced) courses
- Adapt and update class materials with emerging concepts, societal situations, and news context
- Lead and assess class discussions – stimulate deeper thought and engagement
- Assess course assignments with personalized recommendations to fill in the gaps in knowledge
- Provide one-on-one counseling on academic matters and referrals for personal challenges
- Create a summative assessment of course outcomes and initiate revisions for improvement
- Generate a deep-thinking report for administrators and committees to consider
By Fall 2025, readily available AI tools will be able to serve in curriculum development, marketing and student on-boarding:
- Survey specified fields for addition or expansion of degree and certificate programs
- Recommend detailed curriculum for new programs and suggest tuition/fees
- Create marketing plans after developing a report on demand and competitors in the program area
- Develop, track, implement and adapt marketing budget
- Prepare and support student advising to optimize retention and completion
- Prepare updated and revised plans for Spring 2026
By Fall 2025, develop optimal staff allocation and review process:
- Assess performance evaluations, recommend additional interviews as appropriate
- Develop, refine and utilize departmental/college priority list to respond to revenue and enrollment trends for the year
- Match staff skills with desired outcomes
- Monitor productivity and accomplishments for each employee
- Make recommendations for further efficiencies, having AI perform some tasks such as accounting and data analysis tasks previously done by humans
- Be responsive to employee aspirations and areas of greatest interest
- Review and prepare updated and revised plans for Spring 2026
These tasks and many more can be accomplished by AI tools that can be acquired at modest costs. Of course, they must be carefully reviewed by human administrators to ensure fairness and accuracy is maintained.
I learned from a number of those attending the UPCEA conference that, in these relatively early stages of AI implementation, many employees harbor fears of AI. Concerns center around human job security. While there are many tasks that AI can more efficiently and effectively perform than humans, most current jobs include aspects that are best performed by humans. So, in most cases, the use of AI will be in a role of augmentation of human work to make it more expedient and save time for other new tasks the human employees can best perform.
This presents the need for upskilling to enable human staff to make the efficiencies possible by learning to work best with AI. Interestingly, in most cases experts say this will not require computer coding or other such skills. Rather, this will require personnel to understand the capabilities of AI in order to tap these skills to advance the goals of the unit and university. Positions in which humans and AI are co-workers will require excellent communication skills, organizational skills, critical thinking, and creative thinking. AI performs well at analytical, synthetical, predictive, and creative tasks among others. It is adept at taking on leadership and managerial roles that recognize the unit and institutional priorities as well as employee preferences and abilities.
How then can we best prepare our staff for optimizing their working relations with the new AI co-workers? I believe this begins with personal experience with AI tools. We all should become comfortable with conducting basic searches using a variety of chatbots. Learning to compose a proper prompt is the cornerstone of communicating with AI.
The next step is to use a handful of the readily available deep-research tools to generate a report on a topic that is relevant to the staff member’s work. Compare and contrast those reports for quality, accuracy and the substance of cited material. Perform the research iteratively to improve or refine results. This Medium post offers a good summary of leading deep-research engines and best applications, although it was released in February and may be dated due to the Gemini version 2.5 Pro released last week on March 26. This new version by Google is topping many of the current ratings charts.
In sum, we are facing changes of an unprecedented scale with the disruption of long-standing policies, funding sources, and a shrinking incoming student pool. Fortunately, these changes are coming at the same time as AI is maturing into a dependable tool that can take on some of the slack that will come from not filling vacancies. However, to meet that need we must begin to provide training to our current and incoming employees to ensure that they can make the most of AI tools we will provide.
Together, through the collaborative support of UPCEA and other associations, we in higher education will endure these challenges as we did those posed by the COVID pandemic.
This article was originally published on Inside Higher Ed.