UPCEA Blogs

See below for the full set of all blogs hosted by the association.

Learn more about UPCEA publications. If you want to be sure to get updates from us, be sure you're a UPCEA member.

The Pulse of Higher Ed

Perspectives on Online and Professional Education
from UPCEA’s Research and Consulting Experts

Leading Digital Learning Enterprises | Part 2: Designing for Learner Success: The Power of Institutional Intentionality

August 27, 2026

The first article in this series explored how the updated UPCEA Hallmarks of Excellence in Digital Learning Enterprises reflect the evolution of digital learning from a specialized initiative into an institutional opportunity and responsibility. As digital learning has become woven into strategic planning, enrollment management, academic affairs, and institutional sustainability, another question becomes evident in the…

The Corner Office Comes With a View, Not a Vote: What the 2026 BOnES Report Reveals About Online Enterprises’ Seat at the Table

August 24, 2026

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…

Online: Trending Now

Unique biweekly insights and news review from Ray Schroeder, Senior Fellow at UPCEA

Focus on Quantum Future

August 20, 2026

We seem to be obsessed with Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI). Yet, our forward focus today more appropriately should be on the emergence, impact and potential of Quantum Computing. AI has had a remarkable impact on higher education, since the release of GPT 3.5 in November of 2022. For an inordinately…

From Knowledge Building to Wisdom Building in Higher Education

August 6, 2026

In years gone by, we said that students went to college to gather knowledge. Now, college is appropriately expected to be much more about building wisdom. The expectations of prospective students and families, employers and society at large have shifted. Knowledge and information have become instantaneously available at speeds approximating personal recall. The next step…

UPCEA Updates

Your one-stop shop for the latest Association happenings, policy updates, plus thoughts from UPCEA Senior Leaders.

How to Measure the Impact of Your Higher Education Programs

These days, students and prospective students are becoming increasingly critical of higher education programs—especially as the cost of higher learning continues to rise. Understandably, students want to make sure they’re getting their money’s worth before enrolling in (and committing to) a program. In other words, they want to know that the program they’re considering is effective and proven to…

Read More...

UPCEA Releases Higher Ed Playbook for Accelerating Growth of Credential Innovation

Grant-funded project delivers promising practices to help institutions engage their local business community in the development of noncredit microcredentials WASHINGTON (Aug. 12, 2024) – UPCEA, the online and professional education association, today published a new higher education playbook, supported by a grant from Walmart, and aimed at accelerating the development and delivery of noncredit, short-term…

Read More...

How to Use Technology to Enhance Leadership and Workforce Development

There’s no denying that the landscape of leadership and workforce development has evolved significantly over the past several years. As time progresses, it becomes apparent that technology has an increasingly present role in enhancing the quality and scope of higher education programs. If your institution is seeking practical ways to improve leadership development and educational…

Read More...

New Distance Education Regulations Proposed by ED Includes Required Attendance-Taking, Additional Reporting – Public Comment Open Until August 23 | Policy Matters (July 2024)

Major Updates New Distance Education Regulations Proposed by ED Includes Required Attendance-Taking, Additional Reporting – Public Comment Open Until August 23 UPCEA Members Take Note, and Make a Comment! The US Department of Education recently released the proposed regulations for Distance Education, Return to Title IV, and TRIO. In another major announcement, they signaled in…

Read More...

From the CEO

Musings on trends and updates from UPCEA CEO Bob Hansen.

The Future of Professional Learning Starts with Us

August 4, 2026

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…

Constructing the Future: Why Credential Innovation Needs Bold Leadership

November 21, 2025

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…

Valuable insights from UPCEA's trusted corporate partners.

Three years with UPCEA, what it means to be part of a real community

August 27, 2026

Three years ago, I joined my first UPCEA event without knowing many people in the room. Today, Drieam is a UPCEA Silver Partner, and I’ve lost count of how many Coffee Chats, webinars and conversations that partnership has led to. What has stayed consistent across those three years is not the format of the conversations,…

Start With the Workforce: What Malaysia Can Teach Us About Building for Growth

August 24, 2026

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…