Technology may be the most visible element of a digital learning enterprise. It is also one of the easiest to misunderstand. Institutions invest considerable resources in learning management systems, student information systems, customer relationship management platforms, analytics, communication tools, instructional technologies, cybersecurity, and an expanding array of emerging technologies. Each promises opportunities to improve some…
During arms-control talks in the 1980s Ronald Reagan made “trust, but verify” one of the most quoted phrases of the era. Four decades later, prospective online and continuing education students appear to have quietly borrowed it back and pointed it directly at their search bar. Trust, but click. That is the story of AI Search…
After nearly four long years of evolving and often conflicting policies since ChatGPT officially emerged, high profile public school districts have decided they now need a moratorium on use of AI to provide even more time to consider policies and practices. Readers of this column know that I generally constrain topics to higher education, however,…
If ever there was a most important era in which we must emphasize discourse with our students, it is today. We are in the midst of major changes in our culture and society as a whole. I have had a long tenure of teaching in higher education, beginning in 1972 at the instructor level at…
Annual Conference Follow Up: Translating PCOE Innovation into the Future of Higher Education
In an era of heightened urgency, higher education institutions find themselves at a pivotal crossroads—confronting enrollment cliffs, shifting demographics, and growing skepticism about the value of a degree. Further, shifting federal policy and changes at the Department of Education will challenge postsecondary leaders like never before. Amid this turbulence, one area consistently demonstrates adaptability, innovation,…
Which OPM Contract Terms Should Concern Campus Leaders and Why?
UPCEA is pleased to announce the release of a new brief, “Which OPM Contract Terms Should Concern Campus Leaders and Why?,” authored by Jeffrey C. Sun, J.D., Ph.D. and Heather A. Turner, Ph.D., and published jointly by the University of Louisville SKILLS Collaborative, Education Law Association, and UPCEA. When deciding whether to partner with an…
The Online Overhaul (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
“[…] The pressures to embrace online education aren’t equal across institutions, though. Those needing to retain or bulk up enrollment and those serving diverse, high-needs populations — community colleges and regional comprehensives, for example — are likely feeling more urgency to adapt, sources say. (Nearly 42 percent of the online-related jobs posted by public two-year colleges in…
UPCEA Co-Signs Letter with ACE in Response to Department of Ed’s DCL | Policy Matters (February 2025)
UPCEA Co-Signs Letter with ACE and Other Organizations in Response to Department of Education’s Feb. 14, 2025 Dear Colleague Letter (American Council on Education) “The stated purpose of the DCL is to “provide clarity to the public regarding existing legal requirements” for colleges and universities under the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students for Fair…
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…
As a student affairs professional, I’ve spent much of my career helping students connect what they’re learning to where it might take them. Along the way, students have taught me something: they are more open to unexpected career possibilities than we sometimes give them credit for. When I introduced students to professions or credentials they had…
At UPCEA SOLAR 2026, OES Learning Solutions joined Stevie Rocco of Penn State University for a session that asked an important question about how we should be thinking about inclusivity in higher education: What changes when accessibility is treated not simply as a compliance requirement, but as a catalyst for better learning? For PSU, said…