By Kevin Shriner

For more than a decade, higher education leaders have relied on IPEDS data to understand the growth of distance education.

Since distance education reporting was added to IPEDS in 2012, the number of students enrolled exclusively in distance education courses has more than doubled. Today, more than 5.3 million students are enrolled exclusively in distance education courses, representing a substantial share of postsecondary enrollment in the United States. Yet despite this growth, a surprisingly basic question remains difficult to answer:

Who are online students?

That question became the starting point for a new white paper released jointly by UPCEA and the International Distance Education Benchmark Project (IDEBP), Seeing Part of the Picture: Who We Can (and Cannot) See in U.S. Distance Education – What Student Demographics at 100% Online Institutions Reveal About Exclusively Distance Education Enrollment. Developed through the UPCEA-IDEBP partnership, the report examines what publicly available data can, and cannot, tell us about students enrolled exclusively in distance education courses.

At first glance, the question seems straightforward. IPEDS collects demographic information about students. It also collects information about distance education enrollment. Many assume that means we can easily identify the characteristics of students learning online.

The reality is more complicated.

While IPEDS tells us how many students are enrolled exclusively in distance education courses, it generally does not connect instructional modality to demographic characteristics such as age, gender, race and ethnicity, or attendance status. As a result, for most colleges and universities, we know how many students are learning online, but we cannot fully determine who those students are.

This distinction matters.

Institutional leaders routinely make decisions about program development, student support services, enrollment management, retention strategies, and workforce alignment. Those decisions are most effective when informed by a clear understanding of the students being served. Yet for many institutions, publicly available data provide only a partial picture of the online learner population.

To better understand what can be observed, the white paper examined a unique subset of institutions: colleges and universities where total enrollment and exclusively distance education enrollment are identical. In Fall 2024, 89 institutions met this definition, enrolling more than 651,000 students. Because every student at these institutions was enrolled exclusively in distance education courses, institutional demographic reporting effectively becomes a direct reflection of online student demographics.

The findings confirm several characteristics often associated with online learners.

Among students enrolled at these institutions:

84% were age 25 or older.
82% resided outside the institution’s home state or jurisdiction.
Women represented 62% of total enrollment.
Graduate students accounted for one-third of total enrollment, nearly double the proportion observed across all degree-granting institutions.

These findings provide valuable insight into a segment of the online education landscape. However, the most important takeaway may not be what the study revealed. It may be what the study could not reveal.

The institutions examined represent only 2.5% of institutions enrolling exclusively distance education students. Most online learners attend institutions where online, hybrid, and face-to-face students are reported together. At those institutions, online students remain embedded within aggregate institutional reporting, making it difficult to distinguish their demographic characteristics from those of the broader student population.

In other words, we can clearly see part of the picture, but not the whole picture.

That reality has important implications for higher education. As online learning continues to mature, institutions need increasingly sophisticated data to understand student participation, outcomes, and success. Existing federal reporting systems remain enormously valuable, but they were not designed to answer every question institutions now seek to address about online education.

The white paper does not argue for replacing IPEDS. In fact, the analysis depends entirely on IPEDS data. Rather, it highlights both the strengths and limitations of the nation’s most comprehensive higher education data system and underscores the need for complementary approaches that help institutions better understand online learners.

For UPCEA members and higher education leaders, this challenge extends beyond research. Institutions are increasingly being asked to make decisions about online program growth, student support services, enrollment strategy, resource allocation, and workforce alignment. Those decisions are most effective when informed by reliable, comparable data.

Benchmarking plays an important role in addressing this challenge. While IPEDS provides an essential national foundation, the findings of this white paper illustrate that publicly available data can only take institutions so far. Understanding how online students compare across institutions, programs, and student populations often requires data that extend beyond federal reporting. Effective benchmarking helps institutions place their own enrollments, demographics, and outcomes into a broader context, transforming data into actionable insight.

This is one of the goals of the International Distance Education Benchmark Project. Through the partnership between UPCEA and IDEBP, institutions have an opportunity to contribute to a broader understanding of online education while helping build a more comprehensive picture of online learners across higher education. By combining the strengths of national data resources with institutionally reported benchmarking data, the higher education community can move beyond what is partially observable today and develop a richer understanding of online students, programs, and outcomes.

As online education continues to evolve, the conversation is no longer simply about enrollment growth. It is about developing a more complete understanding of the students we serve. The more clearly institutions can see their students, the better positioned they will be to design programs, allocate resources, and support student success in an increasingly digital learning environment.

Download the white paper here.

Kevin N. Shriner, Ed.D. is an education executive and strategist focused on expanding access to meaningful college credentials and improving institutional outcomes through data-informed innovation. He currently serves as a UPCEA Fellow and Founder and Executive Director of the International Distance Education Benchmark Project (IDEBP), a national initiative dedicated to advancing transparency and collaboration in online education.

Today’s title carries a double meaning for those of us in higher education. Summers traditionally bring the opportunity to refresh and update the courses we teach, and it also brings the chance to look afresh at the course of our own personal careers.

First, as we review our courses, their currency, relevance and value, it is an opportune time to reach out to those employers who hire our graduates and review literature from the field on how well-prepared our students are for careers in this emerging Artificial Intelligent (AI) era. The Digital Education Council in a report of one year ago in collaboration with the Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN) released their AI in the Workplace report finding “A sharp disconnect between industry and higher education: only 3% of employers believe higher education is adequately preparing graduates for an AI-driven future.” As Louise Nicol raises in World University News, “If universities do not future-proof their offer through deeper and more credible partnerships with employers and industry, what exactly prevents employers from educating and training people themselves?”

With this in mind, now is a great time to reach out to our placement partners to craft more appropriate learning outcomes for our classes and degrees as a whole. The foundation for this may involve taking the time this summer to visit HR departments and corporate leaders to discuss just what shortcomings they see among our recent graduates. This can and should be done in collaboration with the department and college leaders and committees. According to a recently released State of Higher Education Report from Gallup and the nonprofit Lumina Foundation, just 54% of employers responding to a questionnaire in the fall believed colleges “are producing graduates with the competencies their businesses need.” The study found that public confidence in the value of a college degree dropped from 57% in 2015 to 42% last year.

While, in the past century, college was about filling student minds with the “facts of the field,” one key aspect of refreshing the courses and curriculum is to recognize that rote memorization is no longer a foundation of college education. Teaching and learning now is far less about a list of historical facts that are instantly available anywhere/anytime using the ever-enhancing technologies. Rather, our courses should be more about the skills of accessing relevant facts and information as well as the refinement of our own perspectives, ethos, philosophies and strategies in interpreting and applying the data tapped through new technologies. Reviewing our course materials and assessments with this in mind is a very useful step in updating courses to the current realities of the workplace. This calls for connecting students with industry before they graduate.

Mary Moreland, the executive vice president of human resources at Abbott Laboratories, wrote in Fortune earlier this year “By building bridges between classrooms and workplaces, they offer students the chance to build hard and soft skills. An engineering student designing a prototype for a company gains not only technical fluency, but also the kinds of judgment and teamwork skills that textbooks can’t teach.” One obvious solution is to increase internship opportunities for upper division students as they prepare to enter the workplace. However, internships appear to be declining at the very time that students posting applications for internships have been increasing. Government Technology recently reported, internship experience with an employer’s organization or industry is among the most influential factors when employers choose between otherwise equally qualified candidates.

Microcredentials are one method of backfilling these kinds of experiences into degree programs. Building such skills-based programs locally at your institution can create effective professional experiences for students. Microcredentials can also engage faculty members and other professionals in updating skills and experiences. In the form of targeted short-courses, microcredentials may be an expedient way to respond to changes among rapidly-changing technologies and techniques with agility.

Meanwhile, the employment and retention realities in our own field of higher education are shifting rapidly. Nearly every day we read about layoffs and cutbacks at colleges and universities both large and small. Academicjobs.com reported that the trend toward cutbacks is real. “The higher education layoffs February 2026 marked a concentrated wave, following 9,000 job losses across 2025 and more than 100 cuts in January alone.” Inside Higher Ed’s Josh Moody followed up last month “Colleges across the nation cut multiple jobs and programs last month as many sought to rein in projected budget deficits ahead of the start of a new fiscal year.” Moody detailed layoffs at a host of institutions, adding that cost-saving strategies include “buyouts, hiring freezes, furloughs and other cost-cutting measures. In addition to the commonly cited factors in the cuts, several universities pointed to financial issues exacerbated by the Trump administration’s actions, which have injected uncertainty into federal research funding and international student enrollment.”

These trends are worthy of prompting each of us to conduct our own individual investigation this summer to assess the likelihood of layoff or narrowing of opportunities for advancement in our very own specialties. Artificial Intelligence in the form of current apps can be a useful tool to identify employment data and trends in your field by specifying institutional, geographic and other criteria. I recommend that we all consider cultivating a detailed prompt that addresses our specific career interests. This can be run on the frontier AI apps and repeated every few months, for example every summer and each semester, to capture changes over time. Utilize these results to plan the course of your own career, identify new career paths, examine relevant credentials and assess prospects for longer term employment security.

Will you take time this summer to examine, assess and update your course materials? Will you take advantage of available time before the fall term begins to consider how your own career plan may be impacted by the larger changes impacting higher education now and anticipated in the coming couple of years? Those who do take these actions will benefit from improving their courses and finding new career threats and opportunities that didn’t exist in the past.

This column was originally published in Inside Higher Ed.

Adult learners have become an increasingly important focus for higher education institutions. Today, adult learners are not an emerging population. They are the reality shaping the future of higher education.

According to the Risepoint 2026 Voice of the Online Learner report, 89% of online learners work while pursuing their education, including 77% who work full time. More than half (54%) are working parents or parents seeking employment, 30% have caregiving responsibilities, and 21% have a military affiliation.

These learners are balancing education alongside careers, families, and other responsibilities. Rather than building their lives around a degree, they expect education to fit within the lives they are already living. When students say they want flexibility, they are not asking for an easier experience. They are asking for learning experiences designed around those realities without compromising quality and rigor.

What has remained remarkably consistent is why they enroll in online degree programs. Ninety-five percent of learners say they are pursuing education for career-related outcomes. They are seeking opportunities to advance professionally, increase earnings, and build skills that help them stay competitive in a changing workforce.

At the same time, the environment around them is changing rapidly. Artificial intelligence is reshaping industries, transforming how people work, and influencing how prospective students discover and evaluate educational opportunities.

The findings from this year’s survey suggest that while adult learners continue to value affordability, flexibility, and career relevance, they are navigating higher education in new ways.

For institutions, that creates an opportunity to build experiences that better reflect how adults learn, work, and make decisions today.

Learners are researching more independently before engaging institutions

Historically, institutions played a large role in guiding prospective students through the enrollment journey. Today’s learners increasingly guide themselves and make intentional decisions about both modality and place. Eight in 10 learners chose modality first (online vs. hybrid or in-person), and 76% live and/or work in the same state as the school where they are enrolled or plan to enroll.

While search engines remain the most common source of information, learners are drawing from a growing mix of digital resources to evaluate programs. One of the most notable findings this year was the rapid increase in digital and AI-assisted program discovery.

Learners using an AI website or application while researching schools jumped from 6% in 2025 to 17% in 2026.
Use of program review websites increased from 11% to 18%.
Web advertisements and college search site advertisements each saw meaningful growth.

The shift reflects a broader change in learner behavior. Today’s students expect information to be available when and where they need it. They increasingly want to compare options, have questions answered, and build confidence independently before engaging with a person.

That preference is reflected elsewhere in the data. Fifty-seven percent of learners report using self-service tools during their discovery process, while 75% say self-service resources are important when evaluating programs.

As learners navigate an increasingly complex mix of websites, reviews, AI tools, and institutional content, colleges and universities have an opportunity to ensure that relevant human interactions are ready and waiting when prospective students seek them out.

The goal is not simply to provide more information, but to create more intentional experiences that help learners make confident decisions.

Learners want more than access to AI: They want guidance

Artificial intelligence has quickly moved from a future consideration to a present reality for many working adults.

In 2024, 59% of learners said understanding AI would be important for workplace success. By 2026, that figure had climbed to 71%.

Students increasingly recognize that AI will influence their careers, regardless of industry. What is particularly notable, however, is how they view the role of higher education in helping them prepare.

When asked what types of guidance they want from their institutions, learners identified a broad range of needs including:

Using AI responsibly and ethically.
Evaluating the accuracy and reliability of AI-generated information.
Understanding how AI may impact future jobs and required skills.

Many institutions have already begun responding. The percentage of learners who say their instructors regularly discuss appropriate AI use increased from 33% to 46% in just one year. Likewise, the share of learners reporting AI integration into curriculum rose from 19% to 33%.

Universities have made progress in responding to the rapid rise of AI, but learner expectations are evolving faster than many institutions’ guidance and practices.

Students are not simply asking for permission to use AI tools. They want clear, practical guidance on how AI can be used responsibly in their coursework, how it is changing their professions, and what skills they will need in the workplace. The goal is not to keep AI separate from learning but to integrate it in a way that builds judgment, critical thinking, and professional readiness.

This is an opportunity for colleges and universities to strengthen their role as trusted guides by helping learners understand how to use AI thoughtfully, ethically, and effectively in both academic and professional settings.

Career-ready learning increasingly extends beyond a single degree

As learners become more self-directed in exploring educational opportunities, they are also becoming more intentional about how they build skills over the course of their careers.

For many working adults, earning a degree is no longer viewed as the finish line.

This year’s survey found growing interest in continued learning across every category measured:

61% of respondents said they would likely pursue another online degree after completing their current program, up from 48% in 2025.
Interest in online non-degree programs rose from 48% to 56% over the same period.

Learners see shorter-form credentials as a practical way to build workforce-relevant skills. More than seven in ten respondents (71%) agree that non-degree programs can help them gain job-specific skills quickly, while 69% believe these programs can help them reskill for a new career field.

That value is especially relevant in emerging areas such as AI, data, and technology, where skills and employer expectations are evolving quickly. Certifications and microcredentials can help learners build new capabilities and stay current in their fields.

For institutions, the takeaway is clear: learners need flexible and connected pathways through degrees, certificates, professional development, and continuing education. Providing multiple entry points allows institutions to support learners as their needs and careers evolve, rather than at only one moment in time.

A moment of opportunity for higher education

Despite significant technological change, the core motivations of online learners remain remarkably consistent. They want affordable pathways to advancement, flexible options that fit into busy lives, and education that leads to meaningful career outcomes.

What is changing is how they expect to pursue those goals.

Today’s learners are more digitally fluent, self-directed, and aware of the skills they will need to thrive in a rapidly changing workforce. They expect institutions to provide flexibility, relevance, and guidance throughout their careers, not only during a single program.

For UPCEA members, these findings reinforce a reality many institutions are already experiencing; learners are approaching education less as a one-time transaction and more of a lifelong relationship. They may return at different stages of their careers for degrees, certificates, professional development, or new skills as workforce needs evolve.

The challenge for higher education leaders is not to chase every new tool or trend. It is to remain grounded in what students value while adapting to the ways their needs and expectations are changing. Institutions that do this well will be better positioned to expand access, strengthen workforce relevance, and deepen their impact within the communities they serve.

Learners are ready for what comes next. The question is whether higher education is ready to meet them there.

Download the full 2026 Voice of the Online Learner report to explore additional findings and recommendations for serving today’s online learners.

Dr. Tekoya Boykins is a passionate educator who promotes growth and positive change through education. In her position as the Director of Academic Program Strategy at Risepoint, Tekoya is an advocate for education who has led in various capacities including serving as a business and education faculty, curriculum and instructional designer, assessment writer, and faculty trainer for professional development. Her research focuses on competency-based education.

Risepoint is a global education technology company that helps regional universities launch and grow online programs for modern learners. Risepoint supports more than 100 universities and colleges across five countries, with programs concentrated in high-demand fields including nursing, healthcare, teaching, business, technology, and public service. Our suite of products and services supports the full student journey and each university’s long-term goals. Together, we increase access to affordable education that delivers a strong return on investment for learners and meets employer and community needs.

Online and professional continuing education plays a pivotal part in expanding educational access and shaping contemporary workforce development. These programs serve a critical function in our communities, yet they face considerable challenges. Today’s leaders must navigate complexity tied to virtual learning and employer partnerships, along with changes in what communities expect from online and professional education and how they access it.

Amid these emerging challenges and opportunities, there is a strong need for balanced leadership models that address market demands and operational complications. Still, leaders must center the core goal that has long driven professional education: expanding access to learning opportunities that improve students’ lives while strengthening the workforce.

Through online and professional continuing education leadership, these units and programs gain strategic oversight and operational guidance. Effective leaders use data and peer insights to evaluate program effectiveness in the context of market needs. They allocate limited resources to drive maximum impact within programs and in the broader community.

Why the Online and Professional Continuing Education Leader’s Role Has Expanded

Continuing education began with the simple intention to extend learning beyond the conventional university experience. This invited working adults and other nontraditional students to continue to learn and grow, with the recognition that professional development need not feel limited to a few short years in young adulthood.

From the beginning, the role of the continuing professional education leader was to form the crucial link between universities and the broader community. This core purpose remains relevant, but the forces that shape these connections are always changing, as are the leadership skills needed to support lifelong learning in a changing workforce. Continuing education has evolved alongside higher education and the economy, becoming even more of a necessity as industries (and the research and technologies that support them) change at an accelerating rate.

From Program Management to Institutional Strategy

Continuing education leadership was once largely defined by the structure of the specific programs that it supported. Leaders recruited and hired well-regarded instructors, focusing on course logistics with the intention of keeping these programs running smoothly. Their role was primarily operational.

Today, however, online and professional education leadership reflects and supports broader institutional strategies. Contemporary leaders assume an integral role in determining how programs or courses align with community needs and institutional values — and in guiding the development of targeted programs that clearly fit these prerogatives.

Why Revenue, Compliance, and Learner Experience Now Sit Together

Beyond strategy, online and professional continuing education leaders are driven by several priorities:

Generate revenue via online and professional continuing education offerings, thereby allowing units or divisions to remain self-sustaining or even profitable.
Abide by strict accreditation standards and regulatory requirements, especially as they relate to federal reporting, data privacy and labor laws.
Cultivate meaningful and enjoyable learner experiences that make a genuine difference in students’ lives.

These areas, although seemingly distinct, are closely tied to one another as well as broader organizational strategies. Online and professional continuing education units cannot produce meaningful experiences if they lack financial resources, after all, nor fully serve students if noncompliance results in sanctions or other consequences. Strategic leadership binds these areas while also promoting smooth operations.

The Core Responsibilities of Today’s Continuing Education Leader

Every online and professional education leader faces unique challenges tied to their community and guiding institutional priorities. In general, though, this role centers on a few key domains:

Workforce development
Portfolio management
Operational efficiency
Student experience

Effective leaders strike an optimal balance between these areas, fueling well-rounded online and professional education programs that meet community and institutional needs.

Managing Revenue and Portfolio Performance

Revenue management begins with filling seats but involves far more: for example, forecasting enrollment trends and analyzing course performance to back difficult decisions about which classes should remain available versus be paused or retired.

Increasingly, online and professional education leaders are also expected to explore additional revenue streams or operational models that leverage digital offerings or reflect broader changes in educational pursuits (e.g., offering stackable credentials or expanded online programs that accommodate students across diverse geographic locations).

Building Partnerships and Workforce Relevance

Continuing education programs are largely understood in the context of the surrounding community and the local workforce. While these programs can inspire lifelong learning for the sheer joy of intellectual growth, they must also reflect real needs in the economy — including skill gaps that employers may struggle to address on their own.

Online and professional continuing education leaders analyze market trends and confer with local employers to determine which courses or experiences are best positioned to address real needs in the workforce. They build partnerships with local employers, for instance, leveraging advisory councils or completing consultations with subject matter experts as needed.

Current leaders also reference the value of “co-creation” in engaging employer partners. Toronto Metropolitan University’s Lena Patterson even refers to this as the “gold standard” for today’s employer partnerships. Leaders set the stage for strong partnerships by fostering structured engagement models and prioritizing internal alignment.

Improving Learner Experience Across the Enrollment Journey

Learner experience has a direct impact on enrollment growth, revenue, and learning outcomes. A quality experience begins with minimal friction; participants should intuitively enroll for classes without navigating administrative red tape.

Other qualities that boost learner experience include staff support and peer connections. Collaborative tools and resources make learners feel welcomed and immersed within close-knit educational communities.

Online and professional education leaders curate the conditions that support these powerful learning communities by shaping innovative partnership models and developing systems and support structures that keep learners feeling connected and engaged.

The Biggest Pressures Facing Online and Professional Continuing Education Units

Today’s online and professional education leaders have numerous opportunities to expand access and support previously underserved communities. For example, they may draw from virtual solutions or flexible programs to meet students where they’re at. However, these opportunities add complexity, particularly as demanding students seek maximum return on investment (ROI) from their studies.

Meeting Rising Expectations From Learners and Employers

As the potential for online and professional education to uplift students and entire industries becomes evident, expectations surrounding those programs increase as well. Learners want to feel confident that online and professional continuing education programs offer more than merely badges or credentials; they crave immersive learning experiences that spark passion while also preparing them to tackle the workforce challenges of tomorrow.

Employer expectations are rising, too. They want online and professional continuing education offerings to produce job candidates who possess industry-relevant skills — including both technical and interpersonal competencies. These employers prioritize learning outcomes that map directly to specific roles or pathways, but they also want these outcomes to adapt quickly in response to new technologies or emerging workforce trends.

Proving Value With Data, Outcomes, and Operational Efficiency

Online and professional education strategy is increasingly data-driven, with leaders gathering a wealth of information related to enrollment and student success. This data is more accessible than ever thanks to learning management systems, but enrollment and registration systems continue to provide valuable insights as well.

Findings from Helix Education and UPCEA suggest that institutions value data but struggle to leverage it consistently or with confidence. Data science and analytics remain underutilized in decision-making efforts surrounding enrollment, student retention, program development, and marketing.

Many units lack formalized systems to oversee data-driven processes, and even more struggle to integrate data across departments — thereby missing out on the unified view needed to make timely, industry-relevant decisions.

What High-Performing Units Do Differently

High-performing units reveal what it takes to bring online and professional continuing education into a new era. These units may serve distinct communities and learners through courses and platforms that can look drastically different, but they share a few core strategies that enable them to expand their institutional and community impact:

They Align Strategy, Systems, and Institutional Goals

Online and continuing education strategy begins with clarifying institutional goals and determining how to amplify those priorities through programs and partnerships that extend institutional reach. Units should actively advance core educational priorities while identifying how unique strengths (such as flexibility or workforce relevance) can help them meet the demands of the moment.

They Build Repeatable Processes Instead of Reacting Case by Case

Today’s online and professional continuing education units face many requests and challenges, but they cannot handle these at scale if every response involves ad-hoc decision-making or inconsistent workflows. Instead, units should implement repeatable processes — standardizing launch or troubleshooting protocols to reflect clear expectations while prioritizing efficiency.

They Use Peer Insight to Move Faster and Make Better Decisions

Peer insights help units learn about higher education trends while uncovering actionable strategies that can improve enrollment and engagement. Insights gained through connecting with fellow online and professional education leaders can form the basis for innovative program model adoption while also encouraging operational improvements.

High-performing leaders actively engage with industry networks. This may entail participating in panels or examining case studies to validate ideas and understand how similar institutions navigate common challenges.

Why Peer Networks Matter More Than Ever

Peer networks such as UPCEA’s CoRe help online and professional continuing education leaders address and even embrace contemporary challenges. This community can be wonderfully close-knit, with leaders drawing inspiration from one another and working together to support their shared mission of lifelong learning and student empowerment.

Peer networks complement internal data by offering insights and validations that, although unique to online and professional education, may not be available strictly via institutional structures or resources.

Benchmarking Against Similar Institutions

Benchmarking allows online and professional continuing education leaders to compare and contrast various strategies or outcomes with units that serve similar populations. This informs goal-setting efforts, confirming that objectives are relevant and attainable. Insights gained through benchmarking may involve program mix, enrollment, staffing, or even pricing.

Peer networks support benchmarking by offering access to market trend analyses and case studies. Panels and roundtables at webinars and industry conferences bring additional context to insights revealed via benchmarking studies.

Learning Practical Solutions From Other Leaders

Collaboration is key to success in the fast-paced world of professional education. Peer connections help leaders pinpoint practical solutions that may not be evident in benchmarking data alone.

Through cooperative efforts, online and professional education units showcase the stories behind the numbers. This encourages leaders from various institutions and units to work together to advance shared missions: namely, expanding educational access and improving workforce readiness.

What Leaders Should Evaluate Next

As higher education leadership continues to evolve, changemakers should be prepared to embrace new formats and technologies while remaining cognizant of workforce trends and changing legislation.

Corporate training and microcredentials remain core areas of growth as evidenced in the State of Continuing Education Report for 2026. Meanwhile, stackable credentials and certificate prep programs are also gaining momentum as both adult learners and employers prioritize flexible pathways.

Questions to Ask About Your Unit’s Structure, Priorities, and Performance

Careful reflection can reveal a great deal about how online and professional continuing education units have progressed and where opportunities (or weaknesses) still exist. Think carefully about structural concerns along with strategic priorities. Contrast these with data that backs actual performance and industry trends. Questions worth considering include:

How does our unit’s role or values relate to broader institutional objectives?
Do our current course offerings and staffing reflect verifiable needs or demands in the community and the workforce?
Where do enrollment and course completion metrics look strongest, and where do they require improvement?
How do community and employer partnerships strengthen our mission?
Where do learners find obstacles, and how do these challenges impact the overall learner journey?

Where to Focus in the Next 90 Days

Online and professional education units can enact swift and meaningful changes by identifying and analyzing high-impact concerns that influence enrollment and learner experiences. The central goal involves a shift from reactive problem-solving to proactive strategy. This calls for audits and assessments that uncover current weaknesses, namely as they relate to data integrations.

For instance, structured portfolio reviews demonstrate whether specific programs may be underperforming, while operational audits indicate where learners find friction. Upon analyzing assessment results, leaders can prioritize a few high-impact areas, forming the basis for focused action plans. Targeted pilots then test proposed solutions on a small scale prior to broad implementation.

Connect With Online and Professional Ed Leaders to Drive Academic Innovation

Join a robust network of online and professional continuing education leaders and gain practical insights into the models and strategies that help position tomorrow’s units for success. UPCEA members gain access to the interactive CORe community platform, which facilitates peer insights. Learn about institutional and corporate options or take the next step toward becoming a UPCEA member.

FAQs: Modern Continuing Education Leader

1: What does an online and professional continuing education leader do today?

Today’s online and professional continuing education leaders oversee strategy and operations across online learning and workforce-focused programs. They ensure that offerings remain relevant and financially sustainable while promoting alignment with learner and employer needs.

2: Why have these leadership roles become more complex?

The increasing complexity of online and professional continuing education leadership stems from the need for balance, especially as it relates to academic quality and market responsiveness. Leaders must navigate changing workforce demands while meeting high expectations for revenue and innovation.

3: What makes a high-performing online and professional continuing education unit stand out?

High-performing units prioritize data-driven strategies, drawing upon analytics to promote market alignment. Additionally, effective online and professional education units cultivate and maintain strong industry partnerships.

4: Why are peer networks important for continuing education leaders?

Peer networks allow online and professional education leaders to explore innovative solutions and validate ideas, learning from units and colleagues facing similar challenges.

5: What should online and professional education leaders measure?

Data-driven leaders collect and analyze enrollment data and workforce trends, drawing from key performance indicators (KPIs) related to revenue and learner satisfaction.

6: How can an online and professional continuing education unit improve performance without a full overhaul?

Units can pursue gradual but consequential changes by prioritizing high-impact areas identified through benchmarking studies and peer insights. They prioritize a few key areas to explore through pilot programs before scaling.

Major Updates

What is a “Professional” Degree? Lawsuits and Legislators Push Back against Trump Admin Determinations

The definition of a “professional” degree has quietly become one of the most consequential terms in federal financial aid, and it lands squarely on the graduate and professional programs many continuing education units operate. Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Grad PLUS is eliminated and new federal loan borrowing caps take effect July 1: students in professional programs may borrow $50,000 per year up to a $200,000 lifetime cap, while other graduate students are limited to $20,500 annually and $100,000 over a lifetime. The Department of Education’s final rule, published in early May, limits the “professional” designation to eleven fields: chiropractic, clinical psychology, dentistry, law, medicine, optometry, osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, podiatry, theology, and veterinary medicine; leaving nursing, physical therapy, physician assistant programs, social work, counseling, and others in the lower-cap “graduate” tier. This is one of several big changes coming to higher education July 1: the new loan limits sit alongside the rollout of Workforce Pell, the wind-down of SAVE loan repayment plan, revised Public Service Loan Forgiveness terms, and new Parent PLUS limits. For administrators, the practical takeaway is that program classification now directly drives how much a student can borrow, and advising, net-price conversations, and enrollment projections for affected programs should be built around that distinction.

The determinations have drawn broad pushback via lawsuits and bipartisan lawmakers. A coalition of two dozen states and the District of Columbia has sued over the narrowed definition, and the regulations have spurred at least three major lawsuits, none yet decided. In Congress, Democrats led by Reps. Mannion, Bonamici, and Underwood and Sens. Merkley and Alsobrooks introduced a Congressional Review Act resolution to repeal the rule, though a measure requiring the President’s signature faces long odds. The more notable movement came on the appropriations side: the House Appropriations Committee advanced its FY 2027 Education funding bill with a bipartisan amendment that would reclassify advanced nursing programs (nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, certified nurse midwife, CRNA, and other APRN programs) as professional degrees. Broader fixes are also in play, including Rep. Lawler’s Professional Student Degree Act (with a Gillibrand companion bill introduced in the Senate) and Rep. Kennedy’s LEAP Act, which would extend professional limits more widely. The timing is the catch: none of this is likely to become law before July 1, and policy analysts caution that even a court order or new law would take time to operationalize, so institutions should plan for the caps to apply this summer while tracking changes that may follow.

Fraudulent Students and Federal Financial Aid – An Increasing Threat to Institutions: How Congress May Act

“Ghost student” fraud (criminals using stolen or fabricated identities to enroll, collect federal aid, and disappear) has become a serious operational and compliance risk, and it concentrates in exactly the open-enrollment and online environments that define much of the UPCEA community. The scale is real: in the first quarter of 2026, California’s 116 community colleges disbursed more than $1.9 million in aid to fake students. The U.S. Department of Education has spent the past year building defenses, beginning with new identity-validation processes announced in June 2025, flagging tens of thousands of applicants for verification, and launching a formal real-time FAFSA fraud-detection system in April 2026 that requires high-risk applicants to verify their identity through a live ID and camera check (or in person at their institution). The Department says these efforts have prevented more than $1 billion in fraudulent aid. On June 10, the House moved to make this permanent, passing the No Aid for Ghost Students Act of 2026 by a 249–172 vote, with 36 Democrats joining Republicans; the bill combines H.R. 7892 and H.R. 7891, would require ED to screen every FAFSA for identity fraud beginning October 1, 2026, mandate in-person or live audiovisual verification before flagged applicants receive aid, and target institutions that show a pattern of disbursing to suspicious applicants. The measure, which the Department supports, now heads to the Senate.

Critics including the financial aid community and student-success advocates warn that the cure may burden the students aid is meant to reach. House Education ranking member Bobby Scott objected on grounds of administrative burden on institutions and data-privacy concerns, and the Hope Center’s analysis (“The Hidden Power Grab in ‘Fraud Prevention’”) argues these legislative packages would hand the Department sweeping new authority to audit schools and withhold aid even as it says existing tools are already working, inject immigration politics into the FAFSA, and risk reversing a decade of bipartisan progress reducing verification burdens that fell hardest on Pell-eligible students. For online and continuing education administrators, the tension is direct: stronger fraud screening protects programs and legitimate students, but added verification steps could slow enrollment and disproportionately affect the working adults these programs serve. UPCEA’s recent snap poll on fraudulent applications shows how widespread the problem has become for members: 93% had encountered suspected or confirmed fraudulent applications in the past year, including 70% with confirmed cases, and only 8% reported no known cases or were unsure. The UPCEA Policy Committee plans to host a Coffee Chat on this topic in October; stay tuned for details to come.

Other News

Federal SNAP Cuts and Pell Funding Shortfall Risk Worsening Disparities in Food Insecurity, College Persistence, and Attainment (IHEP)
To Fund Pell, House Appropriators Suggest Ending Subsidized Loans (Inside Higher Ed)
The state of international enrollment in 6 charts (Higher Ed Dive)

Online and professional continuing is crucial for those in higher education leadership positions. Whether you are working to develop new programming at a college or university or serving as an academic dean, professional associations offer access to the leading seminars, conferences, higher education workshops, and networking events.

Thus, choosing the right higher education association is a pivotal decision. UPCEA is a leading professional membership association that offers extensive member benefits — such as access to online member communities for discussions and solutions-sharing, mentorship program, access to cutting-edge research, plus conferences, seminars, and networking events.

Knowing what to look for in a professional learning community can help you invest your time, resources, and energy into the higher education association that will best support you as you grow and progress in your career.

Why Higher Education Professionals Need More Than a Membership Logo

Higher education professionals searching for a professional association to join will find a plethora of options available, and the sheer volume of choices can be overwhelming. With most professional associations working to plan higher education conferences, events, and seminars, it’s important that you find the one that will best support you as you explore leadership pathways in higher education.

The Best Associations Help You Solve Real Institutional Challenges

Several basic functions of higher ed professional associations are to:

Organize and sponsor professional development, networking opportunities, conferences, and seminars.
Gather data, then disseminate and publish peer-reviewed research.
Lobby for key members and stakeholders within the organization.

However, the best associations take it one step further: They equip their members with the data and information they need while empowering them to become innovators in higher education.

Why Career Growth, Benchmarking, and Community Matter More Now

Leadership in higher education is evolving to meet the complex needs of a changing time in which institutions are working to overcome financial constraints and adapt to societal transformation. Investing in and focusing on your professional development helps you position yourself at the forefront of this revolution and make an undeniable impact throughout your career.

What to Look for in a Higher Education Professional Association

When selecting a higher education professional association, look beyond the logo. By committing to an association that not only offers professional development but also empowers its members to become pioneers in the field of higher education, you may enjoy association membership benefits that extend beyond networking events alone.

Below are elements to seek in a higher education professional association:

24/7 Online Member Community Access and Year-Round Peer Connection

Look for an association that feels like a living, breathing professional learning community. It should foster a sense of connection with its members through convenient access and year-round events. Examples of such support may include:

Mentorship programs
Online webinars and digital salons
Higher education conferences and seminars
Career center services

Benchmarking, Research, and Practical Resources

Research and benchmarking studies should be regularly provided to members to help them learn how to improve operations within their individual roles. With access to the most recent research and other practical resources, professionals can better promote the sharing of ideas within their own colleges or universities and develop strategic plans for enhancing performance, with specific benchmarking data to support their recommendations.

Professional Development Quality and Relevance

Professional development is essential in higher education as administrators, faculty members, and program developers actively work to adapt to an evolving landscape. Not all professional development programs are of equal caliber, however, and some are more valuable than others. Opting for an association committed to relevant, impactful, and engaging professional development allows you to get the most out of your membership. Your association should offer professional programming that addresses current challenges in higher education and offers frameworks for future-forward innovations.

Role-Based Networks, Events, and Leadership Pathways

Professional associations tend to encompass a broad scope, so focus on choosing one that offers specialized opportunities and smaller professional learning communities. For example, an organization that creates role-based networks and plans events for niche groups of higher education professionals will allow you to right-size your professional network. With the chance to engage in peer networking, you can engage in a richer, more immersive experience.

A Simple Checklist for Comparing Higher Education Associations

As you consider your options, you will notice that most higher education associations have distinct differences — making it difficult to make a true apples-to-apples comparison. Rather, then, think about your personal priorities in terms of professional development, and explore association membership benefits to see which organizations best align with your unique preferences and career goals.

Questions to Ask Before You Join

These are a few questions you may want to ponder before joining a higher education professional association:

What is the objective or mission of this association?
Does this association offer access to the professional events and peer support I would need to further my career?
What types of higher education conferences does this organization facilitate?
What member benefits will I enjoy?
What are the key focus areas of this association?

How to Weigh Benefits Against Your Role, Goals, and Budget

Every association is going to promote its member benefits, but it’s up to you to decide which perks offer the most value on a personal and professional level. You will want to compare these advantages alongside your role in higher education leadership, career goals, and financial circumstances. Joining a professional association requires an investment of time and resources, so it’s important to verify that the association will add value to your life.

How UPCEA Maps to the Checklist

UPCEA is the online and professional education association, and we are proud to have cultivated a collaborative and entrepreneurial community of higher education leaders who strive to make a mark in their careers. Our members are decision-makers and influencers in higher education, so our goal is to provide them with the data, resources, and support they need to take on the complex challenges facing higher education institutions in the modern era.

Where UPCEA Stands Out for Online, Professional, and Continuing Education Leaders

UPCEA has long been considered among the best higher education professional associations — standing out for our ability to foster and nurture the most impactful online, professional, and continuing education leaders. Our core focus areas include:

Leadership in online learning
Professional and continuing education
Alternative and innovative credentials
Nontraditional Student Enrollment and Student success
Research and Consulting

How UPCEA Supports Networking, Learning, and Leadership Development

As a UPCEA member, you become part of a robust peer network in which you can collaborate with like-minded professionals and share expertise at our networking events and professional development programs. We power higher education conferences, webinars, and digital salons that promote healthy, engaging discussions about timely topics. Our members also have access to shared resources, including benchmarking tools and research studies, helping them become more aware of the data-driven trends shaping the realm of higher education today.

How to Choose the Right Association for Your Next Career Stage

Professional associations provide higher education professionals with membership benefits at every stage of their career, so it’s always the right time to consider joining one. Tailoring your association membership to your current career stage can ensure that you receive the personalized support you need as you explore leadership pathways.

Early-Career, Mid-Level, and Senior Leadership Considerations

Keep in mind the following considerations at every stage of your career:

Early-career – Join an association that enables you to build your network and attend conferences.
Mid-level – Choose an association that provides competency-based professional development programs and helps you access leadership pathways.
Senior leadership – Invest in an association that lets you connect with peers at the same stage of their careers and engage in thoughtful discussions about trends shaping the higher education landscape.

When a Specialized Association Delivers More Value Than a Broad One

A specialized association can present targeted opportunities that align with your specific interests and career goals. Your role in higher education and your career goals will play an integral role in the association you choose.

Become a Part of the Leading Higher Education Association and Join UPCEA Today

At UPCEA, we support our members with cutting-edge research, professional development, networking opportunities, conferences, seminars, and stakeholder advocacy. Through our efforts, we empower professionals to reinvent higher education and ensure that students have access to high-quality, rigorous programs.

Explore our membership types, or request more information about how to join UPCEA and apply for membership today.

FAQs: What to Look for in a Higher Education Professional Association

1: What should I look for in a higher education professional association?

Look for an association that offers relevant peer networking, useful benchmarking or research, high-quality professional development, strong events, and leadership or volunteer pathways that align with your role and goals.

2: Why do Networks matter in a professional association?

Networks make it easier to connect with peers facing similar challenges, which leads to more practical advice, better benchmarking, and stronger long-term professional relationships.

3: How do I know whether an association is worth the membership cost?

Consider the cost of the membership, and compare it with the total value that you can use — such as events, member-only resources, community access, research, career support, and leadership opportunities. An association that you engage with regularly will offer you the greatest return on your investment.

4: What makes UPCEA different from a broader higher education association?

UPCEA is specifically focused on online, professional, and continuing education; thus, its research, member networks, events, and professional development are closely aligned to those functions.

5: Does UPCEA offer benchmarking and member-only resources?

Yes; UPCEA provides access to benchmarking studies, research resources, webinar recordings, conference session materials, and networking through its member platforms and communities.

6: Can a professional association help with leadership development?

Yes. Many associations support leadership growth through mentorship, volunteer roles, speaking opportunities, and role-based communities. UPCEA specifically promotes mentorship, volunteer leadership, and leadership-focused engagement across its events and networks.

Joining a professional association should deliver tangible benefits right away — not just perks that look good on paper. For leaders in online and professional continuing education, the difference lies in benefits that solve real-world challenges, such as training teams quickly, validating budget decisions, troubleshooting with peers, and aligning strategy with emerging trends.

The most effective resources (like on-demand webinars, real-time benchmarking data, and practitioner communities) drive immediate impact. We work hard to ensure UPCEA members know how to identify and use their member resources to start moving their work forward.

Why the Best Member Benefits Solve Problems Right Away

The true value of an association membership shows up in how quickly benefits translate into action. Higher education and online education leaders face constant pressure to make decisions, support teams, and demonstrate results with limited time and resources. Benefits that require months to unpack often go unused, while those designed for immediate application become indispensable.

The Difference Between “Nice to Have” and Immediately Useful

“Nice to have” benefits in a higher education membership tend to be passive. They might include resources like interesting reports, occasional discounts, or content that feels valuable but lacks urgency or application. By contrast, immediately useful benefits are actionable, practical, and specific. They answer pressing questions, provide ready-to-use tools, or connect members with a professional learning network that has solved similar problems.

Ultimately, the distinction lies in timing and relevance — useful benefits meet a need you already have and help you act on it without delay.

Why Busy Higher Ed Leaders Need Benefits They Can Apply This Week

Higher education leadership rarely has the luxury of exploring resources without a clear purpose. Immediate challenges — such as budget planning, program performance, staff leadership development, and continuing education — require quick, informed responses.

Benefits that can be applied instantly reduce decision fatigue and accelerate progress. Practical resources, from performance metrics to training modules, support momentum and ensure membership delivers measurable value.

Four Member Benefits That Deliver Quick Wins

Not all professional association benefits are created equal; some are designed to inspire, while others are built for immediate use. The most valuable membership resources help you act, decide, and improve without delay.

Whether you’re developing staff, defending a budget, solving a problem, or aligning strategy, the following benefits consistently deliver fast, practical impact for busy professionals in higher education.

Webinar Libraries for Team Training and Fast Skill Building

On-demand webinar libraries make it easy to upskill teams without the delays of scheduling live training or sourcing external vendors. Leaders can quickly assign relevant sessions to address immediate gaps in subjects like enrollment strategy, marketing, or program management.

Additionally, content that is designed by practitioners is typically relevant and applicable. This allows teams to learn and implement new approaches within days, turning professional development into a rapid and easily repeatable advantage.

Benchmarking Data for Budgeting, Planning, and Internal Buy-In

Access to industry-standard benchmarking data enables leaders to validate decisions with confidence. Instead of relying on assumptions, they can compare budgets, staffing models, and performance metrics against peer institutions. This is especially useful when making the case for new investments or changes in strategy. Having credible, comparable data on hand strengthens internal conversations and accelerates approvals, expediting the shift from proposal to action.

Communities for Troubleshooting Real-Time Challenges

Professional communities provide an extensive built-in professional network. A member-only community offers a direct line to peers who understand and have experience with the same pressures and complexities. When challenges arise, leaders don’t have to start from scratch; they can tap into collective experience for advice, examples, and solutions.

These interactions often lead to immediate, practical answers, helping with common tasks such as navigating policy changes or refining program offerings. The ability to ask, learn, and apply in real time makes communities one of the fastest ways to solve problems.

Events for Strategy Alignment and Cross-Team Perspective

Well-designed events offer inspiration while creating space for focused strategic thinking. Both virtual and in-person member events bring together diverse perspectives, helping leaders step back from daily demands and evaluate priorities within a broader context.

Sessions often highlight emerging trends, proven frameworks, and real-world case studies that can be adapted quickly. Attending with a team or sharing takeaways afterward ensures insights translate into aligned action, strengthening direction and decision-making across your organization.

How to Turn Member Benefits Into Immediate Value

Access alone doesn’t create value; intentional use does. The most effective members focus less on exploring everything available and more on applying the right resources at the right time. Taking a narrower approach and connecting benefits directly to current priorities can generate meaningful results quickly.

To transform a professional membership from a passive asset to an active driver of progress, consider the following strategies.

Use One Resource to Solve One Current Problem

Instead of browsing broadly, try thinking of a specific challenge you need to address now. Then, identify one relevant resource (such as a webinar, dataset, or peer discussion) that directly supports a solution. This focused approach prevents overwhelm and increases the likelihood of follow-through. When you immediately apply what you find, you can create a direct link between the benefit and a tangible outcome.

Build a 30-Day Plan Around Learning, Data, and Peer Input

Short-term planning helps ensure benefits don’t go unused. Consider mapping out a simple 30-day approach that includes:

Engaging with a training resource
Reviewing benchmarking data
Connecting with peers for insight

Each step should build on the last, moving from learning to validation to action. This structure helps maintain momentum and ensures you’re consistently turning available resources into informed decisions and measurable progress.

How UPCEA Maps to the Benefits You’ll Actually Use

At UPCEA, our membership offerings are applicable to real, day-to-day challenges. Rather than abstract perks, we provide resources that support immediate action across training, planning, and strategy. Member benefits are aligned with practical needs to help leaders quickly translate access into outcomes that support their teams and institutions.

Where UPCEA Supports Training, Benchmarking, and Problem-Solving

We provide a strong foundation for immediate execution through our webinar library, research database, and member communities. Leaders can quickly train staff using on-demand sessions, validate decisions with benchmarking data, and troubleshoot challenges through peer networks. Our resources are designed for direct application, allowing members to move from question to solution efficiently while relying on insights grounded in real institutional experience.

How UPCEA Events and Networks Help Leaders Stay Aligned

UPCEA’s events and professional networks create opportunities to step back, compare approaches, and refine strategy alongside peers. Leaders in attendance gain exposure to emerging trends and tested frameworks alike. These interactions help ensure that decisions are not made in isolation, enabling greater alignment across teams and institutions. Professionals can also connect with each other through CORe, an members-only 24/7 online community platform focused on building collaborative relationships with peers and colleagues.

How to Get More Value From Membership Over Time

Immediate wins are important, but long-term value and return on investment come from consistent, intentional engagement. Instead of treating benefits as one-time resources, the most effective members build resources into their daily workflows, planning processes, and decision-making frameworks. Members who focus on incorporating benefits into daily habits can maximize the impact of membership, transforming it into an ongoing advantage.

Create a Habit of Using Resources, Communities, and Events Together

Value compounds when benefits are used in combination as opposed to in isolation. A webinar can spark an idea, benchmarking data can validate it, and a peer community can help you refine it further. Conferences then help place that work in a broader strategic context. Building a routine around this framework ensures you’re continuously learning, testing, and improving with input from multiple, complementary sources.

Measure Membership Value by Time Saved, Decisions Improved, and Ideas Applied

The impact of membership is best measured through practical outcomes — not through participation alone. Consider how often resources help you reach decisions faster, avoid unnecessary work, or implement new ideas with confidence. Tracking these moments over time provides a clearer picture of return on investment. It also reinforces which benefits are most valuable, helping you focus your time where it consistently delivers results.

Turn Immediate Wins Into Lasting Impact in Your Organization With UPCEA Membership

A professional association membership should make your work easier and more impactful today. The most valuable benefits are the ones you can apply instantly to train teams, validate decisions, solve problems, and align strategy. UPCEA brings these elements together in one place, helping leaders move faster and with greater confidence. With consistent engagement, our members turn quick wins into sustained progress, making membership not only worthwhile but also essential to advancing their goals.

To learn more about UPCEA, we invite you to explore our membership page, our community, and the benefits of becoming a member. Ready to join? We welcome you to become a member today.

FAQs: UPCEA Member Benefits You’ll Use Immediately (Not “Nice to Have”)

1: What member benefits are most useful right away?

The most useful benefits are typically professional development courses, benchmarking data, peer communities, and events that help you make faster decisions or solve active problems.

2: Why are webinar libraries valuable for higher education teams?

A webinar library can support quick team training, help staff stay current on emerging issues, and provide leaders with reusable content for onboarding and professional development.

3: How can benchmarking help with budgeting and planning?

Benchmarking gives leaders external context for staffing, pricing, enrollment, operations, and strategic priorities, which can make internal planning and budget conversations more credible. UPCEA highlights benchmarking and research as a vital member resource.

4: What is the value of a member community like CORe?

A member community helps professionals ask questions, compare approaches, and get practical advice from peers facing similar challenges. CORe is a 24/7 online community with real-time access to peers, conversations, and resource archives.

5: How do events become more than networking opportunities?

Events become more valuable when attendees use them to align strategy, gather examples, validate decisions, and bring back ideas that support current institutional priorities.

6: What UPCEA benefits are most actionable for new members?

UPCEA’s fastest-start benefits include webinar recordings, benchmarking research, CORe conversations and resources, networks, and discounted conferences and seminars.

Do you recall when continuing professional education was considered outside the mainstream of the higher education hierarchy, often relegated to extension services?

It wasn’t that long ago that professional education was the less-respected, fragile forum for night school, weekend programs, extension and applied study at many colleges and universities. More recently housing the nascent online programs of the 1990s, this school or college was last in recognition and stature among the more powerful renown and acclaimed schools and colleges. Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS) ranked high in importance for the massive numbers of students both in the pre-requisite and general education categories. LAS also housed many of the well-published scholars and some of the larger research grants from NSF and other large public and private foundations and agencies that sponsored activities such as research centers. Other professional colleges and schools such as Education, Engineering, Medicine, Law and Business have a long legacy of influence and success over the decades. Their influence has been felt, in part, through their successful graduates who return to provide endowments and carry their collegiate heritage with them as they become shining examples of leadership and influence in society at large.

We are now entering a new era in society that brings with it changing jobs and opportunities for graduates. The advent of new technologies has shifted the job market and the needs for human labor and leadership. Our degree designs that were once considered the complete foundation for an entire lifetime of work, are now outdated in a matter of months. Job fields and industries are being overhauled by Artificial Intelligence (AI) with little regard to how those who work in those fields can best continue their careers or shift to another field or occupation.

It is at this moment in time that worldwide economies are in flux. Now, the more spontaneous and agile professionals, products and industries are rewarded for filling the needs of the transition to the new order. AI now serves as a loyal personal assistant, and increasingly takes over a core role previously held by a degree-holding human. In such fields as accounting, customer service, and research, we are seeing larger groups of professionals needing help in aligning and acquiring skills to meet societal needs. These professionals were educated at a time when college learning was all about acquiring and retaining information and knowledge that was assumed to remain most useful and viable for a career that lasted thirty years or more. Yet, that assumption is no longer valid.

The foundations of our careers are shifting. Increasingly, we have ready, competent, personalized assistance through AI to help us with a myriad of tasks in our professional life. With that shift, higher education must also now adapt to the changing realities in the workplace. Universities are no longer about memorizing the facts, figures and formulas of our field because those all fit into a sort of “virtual memory” through instantly-accessible and automatically-updated online sources that are just a second or two away. Our computers, laptops, tablets, and smartphones have served that retrieval function well to date.

Yet, as we enter this new era, human professionals need enhanced access to externally held information and knowledge if we are to most efficiently access the online resources. We can then seamlessly apply our own acquired insight, wisdom and perspective to problem-solving, innovation, leadership and visioning to the tasks at hand. It is in cultivating the skills, insight, perspectives and wisdom that continuing professional education will keep humans at the center of human progress. Together with enhanced retrieval of information, humans remain in charge of advancing society.

Now, after a decade of development, the awesome and affordable technology of smart glasses is increasingly becoming a highly useful part of many occupations. If you have not closely followed the field, advances are rolling out at a rapid rate. As per Google, Intelligent Eyeware Is Coming this Fall that will provide wearers audio in an ear and in-glasses display so they can, read a map, take a call, snap a picture and get a review for a restaurant all hands free. “This is an exciting time for Android XR, the platform we’ve built with Samsung and Qualcomm, as Gemini continues to unlock new experiences across headsets, glasses and everything in between. Today at Google I/O 2026, we shared more about intelligent eyewear: glasses that deliver help in the moment without taking you out of it. There will be two types of intelligent eyewear: audio glasses that offer spoken help in your ear, and display glasses that show you the information you need, right when you need it. Both let you stay hands-free and heads up, and get you help from Gemini just by asking. Audio glasses are launching first, coming later this fall.” Apple’s smart eyeglass product is anticipated by the end of 2027 with similar capabilities.

Step-by-step, we are moving toward bridging information held externally directly into our brains, ready for retrieval and instant use as rapidly as using our own brain-based memory. This is foreshadowed by the remarkable advances forged by Neuralink “the brain-computer interface.” In some cases it may prove to be even faster than aging human technology. Are you prepared for that development? Will you adopt smart glasses in order to advance your career? Are you prepared for the cyborg nature of brain-computer interfaces?

The sooner we adapt to more efficient access to external databases and broad retrieval of digital information, the better we will be prepared to shift with the rapidly-changing workplace in order to remain relevant and useful as employees. Of course, we will add our own personalities, perspectives, ethos, philosophies and histories to applying the data tapped through technology, thereby adding the value of our thoughts and experiences. Guiding us along the way will be continuing professional education. Professional education will enable us to apply our human understanding and values that will empower us to advance even as previous jobs we had held disappear into history.

This article was originally published in Inside Higher Ed.

UPCEA, the online and professional education association, announces the 2026-2027 leadership team for the Council for Credential Innovation (CCI). The association extends its gratitude to the 21 member volunteers serving in leadership roles for this body.

The Council for Credential Innovation (CCI) and its members focus on leveraging the strategic potential of non-degree credentials, workforce-focused microcredentials, and noncredit-to-credit pathways to transform learner mobility and workforce relevance. Each UPCEA member institution may designate a campus leader responsible for advancing credential innovation beyond traditional degree programs and credit hours to represent them on the CCI. Council representatives can attend exclusive events and participate in member-only content and engagement opportunities hosted by CCI.

CCI is led by a volunteer leadership group composed of representatives from UPCEA member organizations. The 2026-2027 CCI Leadership Team is:

Jack Rodenfels, North Carolina State University (co-chair)
Amber O’Casey, Alamo Community Colleges District (co-chair)
Katherine Antonucci, Arizona State University
Karen Bellnier, Mitchell College
Kristine Bowman, Michigan State University
Benjamin Brand, University of North Texas
Insiya Bream, University of Maryland Global Camps
Keisha Campbell, Morgan State University
Kristine Collins, University of California, Irvine
Saira Cooper, Rice University
Julia Denholm, Simon Fraser University
Amy Feest, Southern Connecticut State University
Tim Gilrain, Villanova University
Ronnie Godshalk, Georgia Institute of Technology
Jeremy Lingle, University of Colorado Denver
Carissa Little, Stanford University
Melissa Lubin, University of Virginia
Jessica Metzler, Providence College
Kimberly Moore, Wichita State University
Jill Pippin, SUNY Oswego
Cate Tolnai, University of Phoenix
Amy Heitzman, UPCEA (ex officio)

“The CCI plays an important role in helping institutions navigate the rapidly evolving landscape of credentials and workforce-aligned learning,” said Amy Heitzman, Deputy CEO and Chief Learning Officer at UPCEA. “This leadership team brings tremendous expertise and a strong commitment to collaboration, and I look forward to the ways they will continue to advance credential innovation across higher education.”

Interested in getting involved with UPCEA as a volunteer leader? Fill out this form.

Across higher education, the conversation about artificial intelligence has moved rapidly from curiosity to consequence. Institutions are no longer asking only whether AI will affect their work; they are asking how to lead through that change responsibly, strategically, and in ways that advance mission.

That shift is at the center of UPCEA’s AI Study Groups, a six-week pilot designed to help member institutions build community, exchange practical insights, and develop actionable approaches to AI implementation. Due to strong interest, UPCEA launched two cohorts of 25 participants each, with more than 30 additional members on a waitlist—an early signal of the urgency and appetite for peer learning around AI.

The Study Groups are part of UPCEA’s broader effort to help members move from AI awareness to applied implementation. UPCEA’s AI Hub serves as a central resource for practical guidance, research, primers, training, and member examples focused on the use of AI in online and professional continuing education. The Hub emphasizes areas especially relevant to UPCEA members, including marketing and enrollment, learner support, teaching and learning design, governance and operational readiness, credential innovation, workforce alignment, and institutional strategy.

Over the first three weeks, participants have surfaced a clear theme: AI implementation is not primarily a technology challenge. It is a leadership challenge.

Moving Beyond Experimentation

Many institutions represented in the cohorts are somewhere between experimentation and institutionalization. Some are still working through early pilots and informal exploration, while others have established AI councils, task forces, enterprise tool deployments, competency requirements, or significant investments in AI-enabled projects.

Examples shared across the groups included coordinated investment in more than 100 AI projects, use of Glean for enterprise data integration, an AI competency requirement for graduating students, a structured Microsoft 365 Copilot beta program, and the integration of AI into professional studies curriculum and team workflows.

While the scale and maturity of these efforts vary, participants consistently emphasized the same underlying challenge: moving from pockets of innovation to coordinated institutional practice.

That requires more than enthusiasm. It requires governance, communication, professional development, shared language, and a realistic sense of what institutions can actually implement in the near term.

Governance Is Emerging, but Not Yet Settled

One of the most active areas of discussion has been AI governance. Participants described a wide range of approaches, including AI advisory groups, councils, readiness task forces, working groups, acceptable use policies, data policies, procurement processes, and guiding principles for teaching and learning.

A recurring insight is that governance structures must fit institutional context. A large public system, a continuing education unit, a professional school, and a centralized campus may all need different models. But regardless of structure, participants identified several common questions:

How should institutions balance faculty agency with the need for guidance?

Who should make decisions about AI tools, data use, procurement, and access?

How should academic and administrative use cases be governed differently?

What policies need to change before AI-enabled processes can scale?

How will institutions measure whether AI initiatives are successful?

The conversations also highlighted a tension many campuses are facing; waiting for perfect policy can delay necessary learning, but moving too quickly without guardrails can create risk. The study groups have encouraged participants to think in terms of roadmaps rather than static answers.

“Crawl, Walk, Run” Is Resonating

During week two, the facilitator introduced a framework that resonated strongly across both cohorts: distinguishing what is possible, plausible, and probable.

AI often invites expansive thinking. Leaders may want to hear what is possible. But implementation teams and end users need clarity about what is plausible within the next 9 to 12 months and what is probable given current staffing, systems, policies, and organizational readiness.

This distinction helped participants reframe AI work from broad aspiration to disciplined sequencing. Several examples illustrated why this matters. Projects that initially appeared simple—such as chatbots, AI agents, marketing tools, or AI-assisted web development—often required more human oversight, process documentation, testing, accessibility review, or scope refinement than expected.

The “crawl, walk, run” approach offered a practical way forward. Start with a contained use case. Build trust. Document the process. Demonstrate value. Learn from the deployment. Then scale.

This was especially important in conversations about AI agents. Participants noted that AI agents can be easier to understand when framed as digital team members with clearly defined roles, limited decision-making authority, and specific tasks. But the group also emphasized that agents are only as effective as the processes they are built to support. If a process is undocumented or inconsistent, AI may amplify confusion rather than reduce it.

The Human Side Cannot Be an Afterthought

Across the first three weeks, participants repeatedly returned to the people most affected by AI implementation: faculty, instructional designers, students, IT staff, advisors, administrative assistants, marketing teams, enrollment management professionals, and continuing education leaders.

The conversations made clear that AI adoption is uneven. Some faculty and staff are enthusiastic early adopters. Others are skeptical, fatigued, fearful, or unsure what is being asked of them. Students, too, are navigating mixed messages: concerns about academic integrity, uncertainty about acceptable use, anxiety about employment readiness, and fears about job displacement.

A key learning from the cohorts is that AI literacy cannot be limited to a single department or optional professional development opportunity. It needs to reach across roles and functions. Participants discussed the need for training that helps people understand not only how to use tools, but also when to use them, what risks to watch for, and how AI connects to institutional mission.

Several participants also emphasized the importance of meeting people where they are. For some, the first step may be learning basic terminology. For others, it may be redesigning workflows, testing agents, or building AI into curriculum. Effective leadership requires recognizing that different groups need different forms of support.

AI Leadership Looks a Lot Like Good Leadership

By week three, the cohorts began focusing more directly on institutional AI roadmaps. One framing that stood out was the idea that AI leadership is not necessarily a separate category of leadership. In many ways, it is good leadership applied to a fast-moving context.

Participants explored three leadership components: people, processes, and progress.

The people component asks leaders to consider who will be affected, what fears or hopes they bring, and how institutions can build trust. The process component asks leaders to examine workflows, policies, procurement, governance, and documentation. The progress component asks institutions to move incrementally, measure outcomes, and align AI efforts with mission rather than novelty.

This framing helped move the conversation beyond tools. The central question became not “Which AI platform should we adopt?” but “What institutional work are we trying to improve, and how do we lead that change responsibly?”

Community Is Part of the Infrastructure

Another early lesson from the study groups is that institutions need peer communities as much as they need technical resources. Participants have shared policies, frameworks, use cases, lessons learned, and candid stories about what has not worked.

UPCEA’s AI Hub and CORe community are emerging as important spaces for this exchange. Participants were encouraged to submit AI use cases, contribute resources, and continue sharing examples that can help others move from isolated experimentation to informed action. As UPCEA continues developing the AI Hub, these member-generated examples and lessons learned can help build a shared evidence base for responsible, practical AI implementation across online and professional education.

This kind of community matters because many institutions are wrestling with similar questions, but few have complete answers. The study groups offer a space to compare approaches, learn from missteps, and build momentum together.

Early Takeaways

After the first three weeks, several key takeaways are emerging:

AI implementation must be grounded in institutional reality. Ambition is important, but successful projects require realistic timelines, clear scope, and attention to staffing, policy, and culture.

Governance is essential, but it should enable learning rather than freeze action. Institutions need structures that provide guidance while allowing room for iteration.

Small wins matter. Contained projects can build trust, demonstrate value, and create the foundation for broader implementation.

Process documentation is a prerequisite for effective AI use. Institutions cannot automate or augment workflows they do not fully understand.

AI literacy must be broad-based. Faculty, staff, students, administrators, and support teams all need opportunities to understand and shape AI use.

Leadership must center people. Fear, fatigue, curiosity, resistance, and enthusiasm are all part of the change process.

Most importantly, AI work should be mission-aligned. The goal is not to adopt AI for its own sake, but to strengthen learning, improve operations, support students, and help institutions adapt thoughtfully to a changing environment.

As the AI Study Groups continue, participants will hear from additional institutional examples, refine their own next steps, and continue developing roadmaps for AI implementation. The early conversations suggest that higher education’s AI future will not be built through tools alone. It will be built through shared learning, disciplined implementation, and the willingness to lead through uncertainty together.

To explore additional resources, research, primers, and member insights, visit UPCEA’s AI Hub.

Content for this resource was refined with the assistance of AI. All text has been thoroughly reviewed, edited, and approved by UPCEA staff with subject matter expertise. References and links have been verified for accuracy and reliability.

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