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Unique biweekly insights and news review from Ray Schroeder, Senior Fellow at UPCEA.

Should All College Degrees Come with a Lifetime Professional Ed Contract?

February 19, 2026

Information and knowledge are growing at an accelerating rate. As we usher graduates out of college, much of their knowledge is useless, already out of date. On Medium, Futurist Jim Carroll writes “In 1900, knowledge doubled approximately every 100 years. By 1945, this rate accelerated to every 25 years, and by 1982, it was every…

How Can I Protect Myself from Job Obsolescence Caused by AI?

February 5, 2026

When I make presentations about AI, I am most often asked, “What can I do now to ensure that AI doesn’t take my job?” And, that’s a challenge to answer. We do not know just how, and how quickly, AI will roll out. However, a Gallup Poll released last week showed nearly one-quarter of American…

Affective Intelligence in Artificial Intelligence (AI)

January 22, 2026

As we look at Artificial Intelligence in teaching and learning, we must look beyond facts, figures and formulas to ensure that the skill of perceiving and managing feelings, emotions and personalization are engaged in the process. Looking back on my lifelong history of learning experiences, the ones that I would rank as most effective and…

The Rise of the Agentic AI University in 2026

January 8, 2026

Agentic AI is no longer merely an interactive tool we talk to; it is a colleague that acts for us. In a very active and highly competitive environment, AI has grown at breakneck speed. As with so many technologies, business and industry have moved far faster than academe to embrace the cost savings, capability expanding…

AI in Higher Ed Will Come Slowly, Until All of a Sudden!

December 11, 2025

AI in Higher Ed Will Come Slowly, Until All of a Sudden! Higher education is, by nature, very slow to change. So it is with embracing Artificial Intelligence (AI). Yet, when it finally comes, the changes will come in an avalanche. In discussions with faculty and staff, I have encountered some reluctance to take AI…

The New Cliff Facing Higher Ed and How AI Might Help Solve It

November 27, 2025

There is a new “cliff” in American higher education, and it is not the demographic cliff. Rather, it is the dramatic cliff in math knowledge, skills, and abilities. Let me be clear that other discipline deficiencies are found in this new generation of college students, however they are dwarfed by those in math. These have…

A man (Ray Schroeder) is dressed in a suit with a blue tie and wearing glasses.

Ray Schroeder is Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) and Senior Fellow at UPCEA. Each year, Ray publishes and presents nationally on emerging topics in online and technology-enhanced learning. Ray’s social media publications daily reach more than 12,000 professionals. He is the inaugural recipient of the A. Frank Mayadas Online Leadership Award, recipient of the University of Illinois Distinguished Service Award, the United States Distance Learning Association Hall of Fame Award, and the American Journal of Distance Education/University of Wisconsin Wedemeyer Excellence in Distance Education Award 2016. Most recently, he was awarded the honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from UIS for his leadership in online and distance learning and he was honored with the designation of a national award in his name - Ray Schroeder Leadership Award for the Advancement of Digital Learning.