There’s a moment from my college days I remember more clearly than any midterm I ever took. I had stepped away from my bachelor’s degree at Penn State because I wanted to live a little. I’d grown up in the same town that I went to college and I just needed an extended reprieve, something…
Read MoreIs your online and professional continuing education unit looking for ways to improve job-market outcomes for graduates and alumni? Are you exploring strategies that better align your program portfolio with the skills business and industry leaders say they need both for new hires and for upskilling current employees? Recent employer data provides a clear signal that high-demand employees are ones with verified AI skills and practical experience. A 2025…
Read MoreAgentic AI is no longer merely an interactive tool we talk to; it is a colleague that acts for us. In a very active and highly competitive environment, AI has grown at breakneck speed. As with so many technologies, business and industry have moved far faster than academe to embrace the cost savings, capability expanding…
Read MoreAI in Higher Ed Will Come Slowly, Until All of a Sudden! Higher education is, by nature, very slow to change. So it is with embracing Artificial Intelligence (AI). Yet, when it finally comes, the changes will come in an avalanche. In discussions with faculty and staff, I have encountered some reluctance to take AI…
Read MoreNew Research from UPCEA, AACRAO, and Modern Campus Shows Barriers Affecting Effective Collaboration between Academic Registrars and PCE Units
Benchmark Survey Addresses Challenges and Opportunities Faced by Professional and Continuing Education Units and Traditional Academic Programs Washington, DC (July 24, 2023) – UPCEA, the online and professional education association, the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO), and Modern Campus recently partnered on a survey of their respective undergraduate-serving institutional members in…
Affirmative Action and Student Debt Forgiveness Program Blocked by Supreme Court | Policy Matters (June 2023)
Major Updates Supreme Court Strikes Down Race-Based Admissions for Colleges and Universities On Thursday, June 29th, the Supreme Court rejected the constitutionality of race-based admissions within two cases involving Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. Stating that the affirmative action admissions practices are unlawful, the Court has decided that these sorts of targeted…
ED Releases Proposed Gainful Employment, Certification Procedures, HEERF, and Second Chance Pell; Public Comments Open With Multiple Deadlines | Policy Matters (May 2023)
Major Updates Department of Education Releases Proposed Gainful Employment, Financial Responsibility, Administrative Capability, Certification Procedures, and Ability-to-Benefit Regulations – Public Comment Due June 20 The Department of Education has released the long-anticipated retooling of the Gainful Employment (GE) rule following work during the 2021-2022 Negotiated Rulemaking. Current law requires that certificate programs at all institutions…
The UPCEA Community: Focus on Credentials
Twenty years ago nearly every online leader was familiar with faculty concerns about quality and cannibalization. Those concerns proved ill-founded, of course. Indeed, the online learning revolution continues unabated, driven by a virtuous circle of learning innovation and entrepreneurial approaches to expanding access. This transformative potential is why online learning continues to be a major…
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…
Read MoreWe 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 MoreIntroduction Higher education is at a crossroads, marked by declining public trust, diminishing enrollments, substantial budget cuts, and increased scrutiny on post-college outcomes. Recent research from UPCEA underscores growing skepticism about the value of traditional degrees, driving institutions and learners alike to explore innovative educational pathways and revenue models (UPCEA, 2025). To address these challenges…
Read MoreOnline programs are no longer a nice-to-have. They are essential, with many schools looking to online as their primary growth lever amid market headwinds. A strong portfolio of online programs can allow institutions to grow enrollment, reach new student populations, and future-proof their offerings. But building, launching, and sustaining a successful online program operation requires…
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