As more and more institutions face internal and external pressures to identify and cultivate new revenue streams, many are turning to online and professional continuing education to attract new learners and address fiscal shortfalls. While this continued increase in supply undoubtedly benefits the student, it makes an already saturated market even more competitive. UPCEA’s 2024…
Read MoreI’ve been through the college enrollment process before, and to be honest, it’s not exactly something that I wish to do again. And yet, as part of my role at UPCEA, I regularly step into the shoes of a prospective student during our Enrollment Process Reviews. These “secret shopper” exercises involve posing as potential applicants…
Read MoreThe technology of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) gained worldwide attention with the initial release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT on November 30, 2022, and it has continued to expand at awesome speed and capability ever since. This has generated fear and anxiety among some observers and enthusiasm among others. The enthusiasm is for the many ways in…
Read MoreThe field of higher education is notoriously slow to change. Yet, when faced with the extraordinary challenges of today, our associations are quick to foster support, collaboration and unity. I just returned from the UPCEA Annual Conference held in Denver. A record attendance of some 1,300 administrators, faculty and staff from member institutions gathered to…
Read More5 Online Education Trends to Watch in 2017 (U.S. News & World Report)
5 Online Education Trends to Watch in 2017 (U.S. News & World Report) January 5, 2017 As online learning continues to attract career changers, some experts say more degrees offered online in 2017 will focus on specialized areas – such as a bachelor’s in real estate or marketing rather than business administration. “They have to…
Department Announces Final Rule on State Authorization
On December 19th, the U.S. Department of Education released final regulations to improve oversight and protect more than 5.5 million distance education students at degree-granting institutions including nearly 3 million exclusively online students by clarifying the state authorization requirements for postsecondary distance education. To ensure that institutions offering distance education are legally authorized and monitored…
10 Types of Credentials You Can Earn Online (Yahoo! Sports)
When it comes to online learning, students should choose a credential that fulfills their goals while providing flexibility — whether it’s a single course certificate or a full degree. “There’s such a wide range of offerings to them at economical prices that allow them to target their education specifically to their career plan,” says Ray…
Department Publishes Borrower Defense to Repayment Regulations
On November 1, 2016, the U.S. Department of Education announced final regulations to protect student borrowers against misleading and predatory practices by postsecondary institutions and clarify a process for loan forgiveness in cases of institutional misconduct. According to the Department: The final regulations include key provisions from the proposed regulations that will protect the rights of…
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…
Read MoreA Movement, Not Just a Community Convergence is emerging as the place where the credential innovation community for higher ed comes together. But more than a community, it’s a movement. Not a movement to make degrees less valuable, let alone obsolete. Rather, it’s a movement to complement degrees by meeting the needs of those for…
Read MoreHigher education institutions are navigating a rapidly evolving search landscape. With so many prospective students turning to search engines to explore programs and make enrollment decisions, universities must ensure their SEO strategies keep pace with these changes. Without a clear SEO strategy, institutions risk losing visibility. According to the Higher Ed SEO Research Study developed…
Read MoreSystems are the processes, people, and technology that make your university run on a day-to-day basis. There are a thousand of them that make up your infrastructure, from recruiting and enrollment to learning design and continuing education. It’s these systems that dictate the experiences your students, staff, and faculty have within your university. As such,…
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