Imagine your bellwether program stepping into a modern search arena with a glossy tri-fold and a storied reputation, ready to battle any challenger. Across the ring rolls a robotic rival as “The Imperial March” blares over the speakers. The ref signals start; a blinding spotlight from the robot makes your program vanish from view. The…
Read MoreIntroduction At the 2025 UPCEA Annual Conference, the session “Owning Your Awesomeness” reminded us that professional growth isn’t just about mastering skills—it’s about recognizing and amplifying the unique strengths we already have. For leaders and practitioners in professional and online education this means embracing both the outward image we present and the inner narratives that…
Read MoreThere is a new “cliff” in American higher education, and it is not the demographic cliff. Rather, it is the dramatic cliff in math knowledge, skills, and abilities. Let me be clear that other discipline deficiencies are found in this new generation of college students, however they are dwarfed by those in math. These have…
Read MoreMost of us in higher education are now familiar with generative AI bots, where you formulate a prompt and get a reply. Yet, we are now beginning the advancement to agentic AI, the autonomous 24-7 project manager. The dramatic enhancement in the capability of AI as it moves from bots to agents will bring about…
Read MoreUPCEA Announces 2022 Regional Award Recipients
20 Individuals and 14 Programs Honored Across 5 Regions WASHINGTON, September 22, 2022 – UPCEA, the leader in professional, continuing, and online education, has announced the recipients of the 2022 Regional Awards. Each of UPCEA’s five Regions recognizes both individual and institutional achievement of the UPCEA members within the Region. Award recipients will be honored…
Biden Administration Announces Long-Awaited Student Debt Forgiveness, Signals End of Student Loan Payment Pause | Policy Matters (August 2022)
Major Updates Biden Administration Announces Long-Awaited Student Debt Forgiveness, Signals End of Student Loan Payment Pause After years of anticipation, the Biden Administration rolled out its student debt forgiveness and repayment package. While the $10,000 in forgiveness for any individual making less than $125k per year (or $250k jointly) which was included in the final…
New Portal Login Security Verification Step
In order to improving the security and functionality of our member login, we would like to inform you about an email verification step you will see soon. Starting on Friday September 9th, when you log in to your user profile on the UPCEA member portal, you will receive an email from: Sender: MemberSuite Support <[email protected]>…
Conference Committee Nixes Short-Term Job Training Pell Grants from Final Compromise Computer Chip Bill | Policy Matters (July 2022)
Major Updates Conference Committee Nixes Short-Term Job Training Pell Grants from Final Compromise Computer Chip Bill After months of internal negotiations between a conference committee working out differences between the House and Senate passed legislation focusing on competitiveness with China, a much narrower compromise bill has come forth. Smaller than the House of Representatives’ original…
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 MoreHalf of prospective students use AI tools every week. Yet, only about a third of higher education institutions have a formal strategy for AI search. That gap isn’t just a metric. It’s a brand visibility crisis. Students are using ChatGPT and Perplexity to research programs, compare universities, and narrow their lists, often before they ever…
Read MoreStudent success starts with the right conversation. By uniting data, technology, and human connection, institutions can shift from reactive outreach to proactive engagement that strengthens trust, equity, and long-term retention. Every Student Is a Story, Not a Segment “On the other side of every data point, every phone number, every email address, there’s a person…
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