See below for the full set of all blogs hosted by the association.

Learn more about UPCEA publications. If you want to be sure to get updates from us, be sure you're a UPCEA member.

Perspectives on Online and Professional Education
from UPCEA’s Research and Consulting Experts

Preparing Four-Year Institutions for Workforce Pell

September 23, 2025

Institutions must begin preparing now for 2026 implementation.  On July 4, 2025, Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), a sweeping legislative package that reshapes federal student aid and accountability policy. Among many consequential provisions for higher education is the creation of Workforce Pell, which will extend Pell Grant eligibility to some short-term,…

Read More

How AI Is Rewriting the Playbook for Enrollment Management

September 22, 2025

Introduction Enrollment managers face a paradox: students demand personalized service, yet resources are shrinking. While AI is exciting, it is also an expensive endeavor for enrollment management divisions already stretched by staffing and resource challenges. Traditional methods—manual file reviews, siloed systems, and lagging indicators—simply can’t keep up. The solution lies in determining how to leverage…

Read More

Unique biweekly insights and news review from Ray Schroeder, Senior Fellow at UPCEA

AI Hallucinations May Soon Be History

October 2, 2025

An artifact of the race to the top in Artificial Intelligence (AI) is that mistakes inevitably occur in refining the models that are under continuous development. One of those many mistakes apparently led to hallucinations in outputs. We all are witness to the incredibly frenetic race to develop AI tools that publicly kicked off on…

Read More

AI Teaching Learners Today: Pick Your Pedagogy!

September 18, 2025

University budgets across the country are broken. Overall revenue and accumulated financial support appear to be declining at most universities for a wide variety of reasons. New funding policies, administrative reorganizations such as those at the Department of Education, lean fiscal times for states, diminished regard for higher learning, fewer requirements for degrees among employers…

Read More

Your one-stop shop for the latest Association happenings, policy updates, plus thoughts from the desk of CEO Bob Hansen.

UPCEA 2025 Fong Grant Recipient Announced

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 29, 2025 — UPCEA is pleased to announce that the 2025 Jim Fong Grant for Advancing Online and Professional Education has been awarded to Morgan State University’s Center for Continuing and Professional Studies. Morgan State’s submission contained broad ambitions, notable contributions to the field, and aligned with UPCEA’s suite of services.  …

Read More...

Trump Administration Gives Harvard 20 Days to Turn Over Admissions Data | Policy Matters (September 2025)

Major Updates Trump Administration Gives Harvard 20 Days to Turn Over Admissions Data The U.S. Department of Education has given Harvard University 20 days to turn over detailed admissions data in connection with an ongoing federal review of selective admissions practices. While focused on one institution, this move signals heightened scrutiny across higher education. Administrators…

Read More...

2025 UPCEA MEMS Award Recipients Announced

29 Recipients Chosen For Three Award Categories WASHINGTON, D.C., September 17, 2025 — UPCEA, the online and professional education association, has announced the recipients of the 2025 Excellence in Enrollment Management Award, the Excellence in Advancing Student Success Award, and the Excellence in Marketing Award. All three awards are sponsored by UPCEA’s Marketing, Enrollment, and…

Read More...

Honoring the Life and Legacy of Dr. James P. Pappas

UPCEA joins colleagues, friends, and the broader higher education community in mourning the passing of Dr. James P. Pappas, who dedicated his career to advancing the reach, relevance, and impact of online, professional and continuing education. Dr. Pappas, a former President of UPCEA, was the 1999 Walton S. Bittner Service Citation Award recipient and 2006…

Read More...

Musings on trends and updates from UPCEA CEO Bob Hansen.

Announcing two exciting, new member-driven regional conference pilot programs!

September 21, 2017

Dear Colleagues, I want to share with you the results of the UPCEA Presidential Task Force on Regional Conferences, which conducted a comprehensive and iterative review of the signature deliverable of UPCEA’s five regions: a fall conference. The UPCEA Board of Directors charged the Task Force to make recommendations for reducing the number of regional…

Read More

Valuable insights from UPCEA's trusted corporate partners.

Cybersecurity as a Strategic Priority for Universities

September 22, 2025

Protecting students, data, and credentials starts at the top, because hacks don’t take holidays. Cybersecurity Is Now a Leadership Issue Universities aren’t just academic institutions anymore. They’re digital enterprises. Student data, research, and online platforms are valuable targets, and attackers know it. That’s why cybersecurity has moved out of the IT basement and into the…

Read More

Building Better Learners, Educators, and Outcomes with Scenario-Based Learning

August 25, 2025

Since 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 More