A new direction for the Distance Teaching and Learning Conference
Over the last three years, UPCEA engaged in an innovative partnership with the University of Wisconsin–Madison to enable the latter’s Distance Teaching and Learning (DT&L) conference to continue under UPCEA’s leadership. The partnership’s goals included making this valuable event for the distance learning community more sustainable and accessible to online practitioners focused on teaching and learning.
We learned over the course of the past three years that an in-person event is inaccessible to many instructional designers, academic technologists, and faculty due to a scarcity of travel dollars and time to devote to conference attendance.
After many conversations with various stakeholders, inclusive of Chief Online Learning Officers (COLOs) and the team at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, I can announce a new direction for the Distance Teaching and Learning Conference:
- The conference will retain its acronym but be known as the Digital Transformation and Learning Conference – broadening the scope to be inclusive of all digital transformation efforts at postsecondary institutions.
- The conference will be a virtual-only event, hosted each winter. The next conference will be February 4-6, 2026. Fill out this interest form to be notified when the DT&L Call for Proposals opens.
- The conference will retain many of the historic DT&L elements: emphasizing digital teaching and learning, connecting online practitioners through networking, and highlighting the recipient of the Mildred B. and Charles A. Wedemeyer Award and Shauna Schullo Award for Best Distance Teaching Practices.
After two years of running concurrently with DT&L, SOLAR: The Summit for Online Leadership and Administration, will continue as a standalone event. The next SOLAR event is in Portland, Oregon, July 22-24, 2025.
Having engaged with the DT&L community for the past three years, I am in awe of the dedication, excitement, resilience, and innovation I have witnessed in the countless sessions and conversations I have experienced. I, along with Julie Uranis, and the entire UPCEA team, look forward to this new direction and exciting path forward.
Dr. Robert J. Hansen has served as Chief Executive Officer of UPCEA, the online and professional education association, since 2010. UPCEA has more than tripled in size during Hansen’s tenure by focusing on new initiatives that elevate the field, including industry-leading events for online leadership and credential innovation in higher education, online leadership development programs, and a popular research and consulting service for members. He previously served in senior leadership roles in both public and private universities, and as an education policy aide in the administration of former Illinois governor, Jim Edgar. Hansen earned a Ph.D. in English from the University of Notre Dame, an M.A. in Literature from the University of Michigan, and a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Illinois.