Each spring, campuses quietly rehearse a familiar transition. The cadence shifts. Energy returns. Commencement ceremonies are scheduled, and multiple beautification processes are underway, from reenergized flower beds to window washing and clean walkways. What was dormant begins to move again. In higher education, this seasonal rhythm offers more than symbolism. It provides a useful leadership lens for…
I have always appreciated how honest wood is. Look at a cut stump and the rings tell a story: good years, lean years, drought, recovery. That feels like the right way to read the newly released 2026 State of Continuing Education report from UPCEA, Modern Campus, and The EvoLLLution. As this partnership reaches its five-year…
The Chief Online Learning Officers at colleges and universities are increasingly charting the future of teaching and learning. It was three decades ago that my career in higher education took a turn. I was promoted to full Professor and given the golden opportunity of my career to lead our campus in the use of the…
Many of us utilize AI daily in our higher education work, yet we may not have assessed the ethical and human-centered nature of the tool we have selected and trained through our prompts. AI tools are no longer a relatively simple search engine that is driven by marketing metrics to help us conduct our research.…
UPCEA Announces 2022 Association Award Recipients
8 Individuals and 8 Programs Receive Association’s Highest Honors WASHINGTON, February 9, 2022 – UPCEA, the leader in online and professional continuing education, has announced the recipients of the 2022 Association Awards. The UPCEA Association Awards program includes recognition of both individual and institutional achievement across the UPCEA membership. Since 1953, UPCEA has recognized its…
Emergency Remote Instruction Is Not Quality Online Learning (Inside Higher Ed)
Widespread misconceptions have arisen, write members of the National Council for Online Education, but when done correctly, online courses can be as effective as face-to-face ones. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, students, faculty and administrators faced challenges amid the urgent pivot to emergency remote instruction. The pandemic and resulting quarantines are…
Department Begins Regulatory Re-write on Accountability Rules for Institutions, Secretary Cardona Makes Speech on Top Priorities | Policy Matters (January 2022)
Major Updates Biden-Harris Administration Takes Actions including $198M in Grants to Support Students’ Basic Needs and Mitigate the Spread of COVID-19 at Colleges and Universities “The Department announced that it will be inviting applications next week for a $198 million grant opportunity under the Supplemental Support under American Rescue Plan (SSARP) program to support colleges…
UPCEA Announces Leadership Teams for New Council for Credential Innovation and Alternative Credentials Network
UPCEA welcomes 31 leaders in alternative credentials to volunteer roles WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 26, 2022) — UPCEA, the association for college and university leaders in online and professional continuing education, announced today the inaugural leadership team for the Council for Credential Innovation (CCI). The Council for Credential Innovation is composed of senior leaders charged with…
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…
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…
Some conferences feel long. This one flew by. And still, I kept thinking I wish I could have attended even more sessions. Over the past few days at the UPCEA Annual Conference, a few very clear themes kept coming back. Not just in presentations, but in conversations with people across institutions. Yes, AI is still very much…
Online enrollment leaders don’t need another mandate to “use AI.” They need relief. Most teams are already stretched thin by demands to manage inquiry volume, follow-up expectations, data hygiene, and prospect responsiveness. They lack the capacity to take on yet another complex initiative, especially one that feels abstract or disruptive. AI mandates promise transformation when…