A decade ago, the buzz phrase was the Internet of Things or IoT. Cell phones had limited power and apps were just starting to bridge the internet with mobile devices. Uber had only recently launched (2010). Online banking was in its early stages of acceptance and electric cars were almost non-existent. Facebook was a third…
Read MoreFor 2022, many saw and felt it to be a year of uncertainty. It was the first real full-year of return to campus-based operations after the start of the COVID pandemic, with most staff and students going back to in-person work and learning. However, like many industries, higher education retirements increased and given inflationary factors,…
Read MoreThis fall we are moving into the agentic generation of Artificial Intelligence (AI). It is generative AI that we have become accustomed to in the past couple of years. That will not go away, but increasingly, it will serve in support of agents. “Where generative AI creates, agentic AI acts.” That’s how my trusted assistant,…
Read MoreAs we enter the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the emphasis in higher learning is less on in-depth discipline knowledge and more on agile skills in critical thinking and creative thinking. How can we more deeply integrate the development of these skills into our curricula? Of course, the need for these skills is based upon the continuing…
Read MoreUPCEA’s 2025 Online Education Benchmarking Report Provides Vital Data for University Leaders
Second annual study provides new KPI benchmarks around enrollments, finance, and budget, explores the impact of AI, and provides strategic recommendations for online leaders to thrive in these uncertain times. WASHINGTON, D.C., ISSUED AUGUST 12, 2025…UPCEA, the online and professional education association, today announced the release of a new research report, “Benchmarking Online Enterprises: Insights…
Congress Passes President Trump’s OBBB—Workforce Pell Included, but Higher Ed Gets $300 Billion Slash | Policy Matters (July 2025)
Major Updates Congress Passes President Trump’s OBBB—Workforce Pell Included, but Higher Ed Gets $300 Billion Slash President Trump’s newly signed One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) overhauls the federal approach to higher education policy. Short-term Pell advocates (of which UPCEA has been a long supporter) have something to be thankful for, as it opens Workforce…
Synchronizing Pathways: Advancing the National Dialogue on Credentials and Learning Mobility
Incubator grant supports critical work to align data practices and learning mobility frameworks to benefit today’s learners WASHINGTON July 31, 2025 – UPCEA, the online and professional education association, has launched a national initiative to advance credential transparency and learner mobility through improved data quality and institutional capacity-building. The project titled, “Synchronizing Pathways: Expanding Institutional…
UPCEA Recognizes 2025 Award Recipients at the Summit for Online Leadership and Administration Conference (SOLAR)
Association Award Recipients Highlighted at Event WASHINGTON (July 17, 2025) – UPCEA, the online and professional education association, is pleased to recognize the recipients of this year’s online and distance education awards. Award recipients will be showcased at the Summit for Online Leadership and Administration (SOLAR) Conference, July 22-24 in Portland, Oregon. The annual SOLAR…
We are pleased to share the foreword by UPCEA CEO Bob Hansen from the newly released Chief Online Learning Officers’ Guidebook: A Framework for Strategy and Practice in Higher Education. The guidebook, now available from Routledge in paperback, hardback, and eBook formats, provides a comprehensive framework for today’s online learning leaders. Learn more and purchase…
Read MoreOver 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…
Read MoreTurn learners into the cyber pros every employer is chasing with stackable, multi-credential pathways The Cyber Talent Gap Is a Moving Target Picture this: the bad guys keep upgrading their playbook, but the good guys are still running last season’s plays. That’s the cyber talent gap in a nutshell. It’s not just about more people…
Read MoreEvery year, the Voice of the Online Learner report offers a window into the motivations, preferences, and challenges of today’s online students. Now in its 14th year, the 2025 edition provides timely insights for UPCEA members seeking to design courses and programs that meet the needs of adult learners, employers, and communities. At Risepoint, we’re…
Read More