Posts by UPCEA
Seeking Tech Antidotes for Enrollment Cliff (Inside Higher Ed)
A looming enrollment cliff—expected to bring a massive dip in traditional-aged students—cast a shadow over conversations at the annual UPCEA conference last week. But many attendees at the online education–focused event in Boston sought to brighten the mood with solutions and tactics that included embracing artificial intelligence and pursuing personalized learning bolstered by microcredentials. “We’re…
Read MoreOnline Continuing Ed Programs See Improved Staffing but Problems Remain (Inside Higher Ed)
Online continuing education programs saw improved staffing and increased support from institutional leadership in the last year, but still face many challenges, according to a new report released Tuesday. The “State of Continuing Education 2024” from UPCEA, the organization previously known as the University Professional and Continuing Education Association, found that 45 percent of respondents said they have…
Read MoreMigrating the Headwinds of Higher Education: How UPCEA-Partnered Research Helps Guide the Way
Higher education has been in a state of flux for the past five years, trying to maintain the strengths of its business model while adapting to new market conditions. For many institutions, they are choosing to transform, acknowledging the beginning of the demographic cliff and an automated economy. Recent data from the National Student Clearinghousei…
Read MoreNavigating the Wonderland of Higher Education: The Importance of Transparent Pathways
In the classic Disney movie Alice in Wonderland, one scene captivated me as a child: Alice, lost and bewildered in Tulgey Wood, desperately seeking direction amid nonsensical arrows and signposts. It is here that she first encounters the Cheshire Cat who, in his feeble attempt to provide guidance, leaves her even more confused than before. …
Read MoreHow to Choose a Microcredential (U.S. News & World Report)
Microcredentials – sometimes referred to as non-degree or short-term credentials – have grown in popularity, raising many questions about their worth. In the U.S., the public has more familiarity with degrees than short-term credentials, says Marni Baker Stein, chief content officer at Coursera, an open online course provider. “There’s a lot of information about short-form…
Read MoreOnline Education Truly Coming of Age
When I was just beginning my career in higher education, after a couple of relatively short stints rebuilding television systems at two community colleges in Massachusetts, I landed the job of chief television engineer for the College of Engineering at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. The operation I worked within was then called the…
Read MoreUPCEA Seeks Full-Time Controller
UPCEA is currently seeking a full-time Controller for a fully remote position with the association. The Controller will oversee and manage all aspects of the organization’s accounting functions. This includes ensuring financial accuracy, compliance with relevant regulations, and providing timely financial reports for internal and external stakeholders. The Controller also plays a key role in…
Read MoreThe Risk of Being Too Good at Something: Bananas and the Degree
A friend once told me that the everyday banana in the U.S. has such strong qualities, such as taste, appearance, nutritional value, cost, manageable perishability, growth predictability, disease resistance and relative ease of growing, that few other genetic variations are sold worldwide. This banana strain, the Cavendish, is so popular that few other variations are…
Read MoreBuilding the University of Tomorrow
In the recent opinion piece, “Imagine We Are Starting a University Now,” UPCEA Senior Fellow Ray Schroeder reflects on what will be necessary to prepare higher education institutions for the future through an engaging thought exercise of starting a higher education institution from scratch in 2022. Where would you begin? Central to the thought exercise…
Read MoreK-State Global Campus Goes Remote: What a Difference a Year Makes
By Karen Pedersen and Jennifer Thornburg In June of 2021, the lease for the 20,000+ sq foot building housing the Kansas State University Global Campus was up for renewal. Ten months before that, while in the middle of a global pandemic, the Global Campus leadership team began discussions about the possibility of going permanently remote.…
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