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 MoreUPCEA Asks Congress for Additional Funding, Online Student Support, Waiver Authority
Today UPCEA has sent a letter to Capitol Hill congressional leadership regarding the need for additional funding, waiver authority, and online student support in future funding calculations. Once on the periphery of institutions of higher education, today our members are front and center as all postsecondary learning has rapidly shifted to a remote format. Over…
Special Edition Policy Matters | Major Covid-19 Stimulus Bill Passed + ED Releases Substantial Draft Regulations on Distance Ed, CBE, Credit Hour + More (April 2020)
Major Updates Major Coronavirus Relief Bill (CARES Act) Passes | Provides Financial Aid Relief, $30B+ Stabilization Fund for Education After temporarily stalled negotiations, Congress has passed a $2.2 trillion stimulus package in response to the Covid-19 crisis, the CARES Act, the largest package of its kind ever passed into law. Higher education advocates, including UPCEA,…
2020 UPCEA Benchmarking Research Agenda
Did you know that each year, UPCEA members receive benchmarking data from the Center for Research and Strategy, directed by Jim Fong? UPCEA benchmarking research is not just the industry standard—it is also a nonprofit service designed for institutions like yours. Look out for these forthcoming studies to benchmark your unit to others in the…
Gen Z Takeover: Could online colleges gain traction with young students? (Education Dive)
Four-year universities have long encouraged students coming straight from high school to enroll in their campus-based programs while guiding older learners to their online divisions, creating a divide between the two groups. But Generation Z, whose members were born in 1997 or later, may prove to be the force that can break down those barriers….
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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