In late August, I had the opportunity to join the National Governors Association’s Intersectional Policy Lab on Non-Degree Credentials and Skills-Based Practices in Minneapolis. This first in-person gathering of NGA’s Data and Non-Degree Credential Learning Community and Skills in the States Community of Practice brought together state leaders, researchers, foundations, and employers for two days…
Read MoreWhen the New York Times ran a piece in August pointing out that companies are throwing billions into AI with little to show for it, I had déjà vu. It took me right back to the late 1990s, when everyone thought the web would change everything overnight. It did change everything—but not before years of…
Read MoreFall semesters are just beginning and the companies offering three leading AI models: Gemini by Google, Claude by Anthropic and ChatGPT by OpenAI have rolled out tools to facilitate AI-enhanced learning. Here’s a comparison and how to get them. Each of the three leading AI providers has taken a somewhat different approach to providing an…
Read MoreLearning in contemporary higher education is rooted deeply in calendars and time rather than mastery of the topic of the learning. With an inflexible semester or quarter calendar and an often-inflexible schedule and length of meeting times, learners are marched through the system in the orderly method of an assembly line. As long as I…
Read MoreContinuing-education leaders need more data and better tech, says report (EdScoop)
The continuing education arms of colleges and universities are poorly integrated into institutional systems and resources, according to survey findings published Wednesday by the software firm Modern Campus. Non-degree credentials and certificates are an important revenue stream for universities and colleges, but many continuing education leaders said they don’t have enough staff, systems or investment,…
Creating Noncredit to Credit Pathways
Alternative credential experts identify the conditions necessary to design and deliver noncredit to credit pathways at postsecondary institutions. Over the course of 2022, the Typology, Terminology, and Standards Subcommittee[1] of the Council for Credential Innovation discussed the conditions necessary to create noncredit to credit pathways at postsecondary institutions. Their deliberations eventually narrowed to noncredit learning…
As Colleges Focus on Quality in Online Learning, Advocates Ask: What About In-Person Courses? (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
As colleges’ online catalogs grow, so too has the push to develop standards of quality for those courses. But are in-person classes getting the same attention? If you ask many online-education advocates, the answer is “no.” While decades of research and the pandemic-spurred expansion of online learning have helped demystify it and build confidence in…
Microcredentials Confuse Employers, Colleges and Learners (Inside Higher Ed)
Reskilling. Upskilling. Certificates. Certifications. Badges. Licenses. Microcredentials. Alternative credentials. Digital credentials. So many terms. So little agreement on what they mean, least of all in higher ed. “Employers say, ‘It’s great that this individual has these skills, but we’ll ask our own questions to verify the learner’s knowledge,’” Kyle Albert, assistant research professor at the…
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 MoreSince the 1980s, higher education has steadily shifted from passive lectures to more active, student-centered learning. As Bonwell and Eison noted in Active Learning: Creating Excitement in the Classroom, this shift not only reinforces content mastery but also fosters critical thinking and problem-solving. Cynthia J. Brame, writing for Vanderbilt’s Center for Teaching, defines active learning…
Read MoreTurn learners into the cyber pros every employer is chasing with stackable, multi-credential pathways The Cyber Talent Gap Is a Moving Target Picture this: the bad guys keep upgrading their playbook, but the good guys are still running last season’s plays. That’s the cyber talent gap in a nutshell. It’s not just about more people…
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