Imagine your bellwether program stepping into a modern search arena with a glossy tri-fold and a storied reputation, ready to battle any challenger. Across the ring rolls a robotic rival as “The Imperial March” blares over the speakers. The ref signals start; a blinding spotlight from the robot makes your program vanish from view. The…
Read MoreIntroduction At the 2025 UPCEA Annual Conference, the session “Owning Your Awesomeness” reminded us that professional growth isn’t just about mastering skills—it’s about recognizing and amplifying the unique strengths we already have. For leaders and practitioners in professional and online education this means embracing both the outward image we present and the inner narratives that…
Read MoreMost of us in higher education are now familiar with generative AI bots, where you formulate a prompt and get a reply. Yet, we are now beginning the advancement to agentic AI, the autonomous 24-7 project manager. The dramatic enhancement in the capability of AI as it moves from bots to agents will bring about…
Read MoreTwo weeks ago, we examined the transformation of higher education in the next five years. Today, we look at how this transformation will shift the emphasis of our teaching. As with the prior column, this week’s thesis evolves out of the Zoom Keynote to the Rethink AI Conference, sponsored in part by the International Academy…
Read MoreThe Future of Education is the Microdegree (ElearningInside News)
Blackboard recently teamed up with the University Professional and Continuing Education Association to produce a report exploring generational shifts in education. One of the report’s most striking findings is that 30% of respondents indicated that they don’t draw on knowledge from their university degree in their current job and 23% indicated that their degree is…
More Than Just Cool? (InsideHigherEd)
Collecting data might be the key to getting skeptics to look at VR and AR beyond “cool,” said Ray Schroeder, associate vice president for online learning at the University of Illinois at Springfield and director council for online education for the University Professional and Continuing Education Association. “Higher education is moving beyond just the coolness factor to…
Report: Colleges And Universities Should Offer More Alternative Credentials (Campus Technology)
Report: Colleges And Universities Should Offer More Alternative Credentials (Campus Technology) June 30, 2017 Younger students are more interested in alternatives to traditional degree offerings, such as microcredentials, certificates and other short-term opportunities, according to a new report from the University Professional and Continuing Education Association(UPCEA) and Blackboard. “I think over time, as traditional education continues…
US Department of Education Delays Gainful Employment Rule to 2018
On the eve of the proposed date of implementation, the US Department of Education has delayed the Gainful Employment regulations until July 1, 2018, stating this is part of a fulfillment on their promise of reducing burdensome regulation. A federal register notice was issued announcing the delay. This delay will allow for institutions to have…
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 MoreStudent success starts with the right conversation. By uniting data, technology, and human connection, institutions can shift from reactive outreach to proactive engagement that strengthens trust, equity, and long-term retention. Every Student Is a Story, Not a Segment “On the other side of every data point, every phone number, every email address, there’s a person…
Read MoreSearch behavior has evolved, and so has the path to enrollment. Generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google’s AI Overviews shape how people gather information, verify details, and form opinions. For higher education marketers, that means program visibility depends on showing up wherever students look for answers, not only in search results but across…
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