Amid growing demand for flexible and career-oriented education, online and Professional and Continuing Education (PCE) units are at the forefront of institutional innovation and revenue sustainability. Whether through degree programs, microcredentials, corporate training, or other non-credit offerings, these units play a critical role in expanding access to education and meeting the evolving needs of learners…
Read MoreIn January 2025, the president issued an executive order freezing federal loans and grants, including Pell Grants and other student loans. While the order has since been rescinded, the damage was done. Moving forward, potential students will be wary about the frailty of college loans. There will be uncertainty as to whether college is affordable…
Read MoreWe have entered an era of greater scrutiny and fewer resources in higher education. How might AI enable the deans to become more effective and efficient in administering the college? The challenges are proliferating while funding is deteriorating. Fortunately, the AI options to accomplish more with less funding are expanding. As of the end of…
Read MoreI had the pleasure recently to participate in a lifelong learning session with a group of mostly current or retired educators at my nearby Lincoln Land Community College. The topic was AI in education. It became clear to me that many in our field are challenged to keep up with the rapidly emerging developments in…
Read MoreIMPORTANT UPDATES – Third-Party Servicer and Recruitment Compensation Updates from US Department of Education | Policy Matters (February 2023)
Major Updates NOTE: This post has been updated since its original publishing to include extended deadlines provided by the Department of Education. Some substantial items for UPCEA members to review from the US Department of Education were announced last week. The long-expected Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) on Third-Party Servicers (TPS) and public comment periods on…
Definition Update: Chief Online Learning Officer (COLO)
By Julie Uranis, Senior Vice President of Online and Strategic Initiatives, UPCEA From its earliest days in 1915, UPCEA members have led the charge in making postsecondary education available to distant learners. From the correspondence movement to today, distance learning, now online learning, has been led by practitioners that sit at the intersection of curriculum,…
Do Stranded Academic Credits Lead To Stranded Students? How Transfer Of Credit Policies Impact College Completion (Forbes)
[…] Late last year, the University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA), the largest association of adult and continuing education divisions at higher education institutions, and StraighterLine, a provider of low-cost, flexible online courses, found that the most significant barrier that students encounter when transferring between institutions is getting earned academic credit to count at…
UPCEA Congratulates Members Recognized in the 2023 U.S. News & World Report Ranking of Best Online Bachelor’s Programs
29 of Top 30 Ranked Institutions are UPCEA Members WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 10, 2023) — UPCEA, the association for college and university leaders in online and professional continuing education, is pleased to congratulate the many UPCEA members recognized in the 2023 U.S. News & World Report Best Online Programs rankings. U.S. News rankings include more…
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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