Picture the classic upward promotion. A bigger title, a nameplate on a new door, an invitation to the standing meeting that used to happen without you. But the levers you actually needed to run the thing, budget authority, decision rights, a team you can call your own, sometimes stay right where they were before the…
Higher education is facing significant financial pressure. Revenue is growing more slowly than costs across the sector. State funding is contracting. The demographic cliff has arrived. The institutions feeling this most acutely are being asked to do something that sounds simple but is not: spend less and generate more at the same time. For a…
Online: Trending Now #134 Augmented Reality is emerging as a powerful tool in distance online learning. It is common that Virtual Reality (VR) is confused with Augmented Reality (AR). They are often conflated because some technologies apply to both. Augmented reality, by definition includes the “real world” around the user. Virtual reality is entirely virtual.…
Online: Trending Now #133 The potential digital student assistant is on the near horizon, and it promises alter practices and pedagogies in a big way. All the parts are there; almost certainly some developers are in product testing for a digital student assistant. By assistant, I don’t mean the “Jill Watson” AI graduate assistant that…
From Silos to Systems: A Practical Guide to Cross-Campus Partnerships for Adult Learners
Adult learners have gradually become one of the most important populations in higher education. Roughly 3.9 million students over the age of 25 were enrolled in undergraduate programs in fall 2023, and adult learners now make up at least 40% of total higher ed revenue. Yet many institutions still serve them with structures built for…
With New AI Requirements and Courses, Colleges Eye AI Fluency (Inside Higher Ed)
“As artificial intelligence continues to reshape the workforce, several colleges and universities are introducing AI requirements to general education curricula, majors and certificate programs this fall. Some institutions—for example, Miami University, Ohio State University and the State University of New York system—are embedding AI competencies into pre-existing majors and coursework. Others, including Northwestern University and the Wentworth Institute of Technology,…
Report: Benchmarking Online Ed (Inside Higher Ed)
“Last year, the online and professional education association UPCEA urged institutions to close the gap between student expectations on institutional preparedness for online learning as part of its annual report on the Benchmarking Online Enterprises Survey. This year’s report, released Monday, warns that the story beneath the 2026 data isn’t one of a “rising tide lifting…
UPCEA’s 2026 Online Education Benchmarking Report Shows Digital Learning at Consequential Point
Third annual study indicates institutions are centralizing governance, strengthening enterprise-level capacity, and addressing financial issues as online learning becomes part of core academic infrastructure WASHINGTON, D.C., ISSUED AUGUST 17, 2026…UPCEA, the online and professional education association, today announced the release of its 2026 “Benchmarking Online Enterprises: Insights into Structures, Strategies, and Financial Models in Higher…
In 1915, UPCEA’s founders built this association on a simple idea: carrying knowledge to the people. That founding purpose never had an expiration date, and it does not have one now. It is why, more than a century later, the question in front of us was never whether professional learning needs to change. It is…
The tagline for Convergence, Credential Innovation in Higher Education, raises two important questions: First, what kind of credentials are we talking about? Is the scope of credentials unlimited, blue sky, or confined to incremental changes on the margins of the status quo? And second, who is leading that innovation, and what do they need to…
Why bringing workforce development into the conversation from the beginning can change the role universities play in economic growth. Imagine building a university because you’re building an industry. I recently spent time in Malaysia meeting with university and business leaders, and that idea stuck with me. We talk constantly about aligning higher education with workforce…
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…