Defining Microcredentials and Their Value Microcredentials, shorter educational programs that develop specific skills or competencies, have seen tremendous growth in recent years. Both adult learners and traditional students increasingly seek these credentials for upskilling or career advancement. While the term “microcredentials” is relatively new, short-form credentials have been offered by higher education institutions for decades,…
Read MoreEnrollment management plays a pivotal role in the success of any online and professional continuing education units through impact on revenue generation, learner engagement, and program sustainability. AI-driven business process automation (BPA) offers transformative solutions to streamline enrollment workflows, enhance recruitment strategies, and improve the overall student experience through allowing staff to focus on human…
Read MoreArtificial Intelligence continues to develop at an unprecedented rate and scale. What will be the changes that we will see in higher education by the end of this year? Let’s begin with the advent of generative AI (GenAI) in 2022. It was on November 30th of that year that OpenAI released ChatGPT. The release resulted in…
Read MoreA revolution is quietly taking place in academic and scholarly research prompted by the advent of AI research tools. This will reshape the very nature of our studies and greatly accelerate synergies and collaborations across academic fields. AI research tools such as OpenAI o1 have now reached test score levels that meet or exceed those…
Read More2020 UPCEA Annual Conference Cancellation
Today we have been forced to cancel the UPCEA Annual Conference originally scheduled for March 18-20, 2020, at the Westin Boston Waterfront Hotel. This year’s conference will not be rescheduled. As we shared previously, we originally opted to postpone the conference due to conditions stemming from the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Though we had every…
Joint Response Regarding COVID-19 and Advice on Transitioning Face-to-Face Courses Online
Updated March 12, 2020 During the week of March 2nd, the Online Learning Consortium (OLC), Quality Matters (QM), University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA), and WCET (the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies) released a joint statement on the spread of COVID-19 and academic continuity planning. Since then, a number of institutions of higher education…
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Response from OLC, QM, UPCEA, and WCET
The Online Learning Consortium (OLC), Quality Matters (QM), University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA), and WCET (the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies) represent diverse perspectives from across the field of online learning. In this capacity, the four organizations have the ability to mobilize around topics and concerns relevant to our collective memberships. The Coronavirus…
Identifying Local Skills Gaps (Inside Higher Ed)
Cities in California and Minnesota both have growing medical technology manufacturing industries, but job seekers in those states need different skills to be competitive in the industry. In California, the jobs focus more on programming and life science skills, while the jobs in Minnesota focus more on product development and industrial engineering. […] This may…
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 MoreIs an OPM partnership right for your institution? The answer is rarely a simple yes or no. The decision to work with an Online Program Manager (OPM) is complex—shaped by factors like institutional readiness, cultural alignment, operational needs, staff expertise and financial considerations. Some universities thrive with deep OPM partnerships, others prefer independence, and many…
Read MoreTen Ways to S.K.I.L.L.: Strengthening Knowledge Through Industry-Linked Learning in Higher Education
During a recent Virtual Masterclass titled Strategies for Integrating Micro-Credentials into Curriculum, I had the privilege of joining Lancie Affonso from the College of Charleston to explore how industry-recognized microcredentials can enhance course outcomes. Lancie shared examples of how microcredentials can bridge the gap between academic theory and professional practice while meeting students’ diverse interests…
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