eDesign Collaborative Blog

The eDesign Collaborative (eDC) Blog is a dedicated resource to announcements, updates, upcoming events, surveys, and other items for the eDC community. 

eDC ThinkTank Roadshow

December 11, 2017

Most conferences have the format of bringing people away from universities to share what they are doing… however, much is lost without seeing things in context. Ours is a “Flipped Conference Model” where we bring people to universities and show them how things work in real time. We meet the team, tour, and then spend…

Thought Piece: The Heat Map

October 27, 2017

In my early days as a director, I found that, even when doing my best to scope a course development cycle, there would inevitably come one-off request for “urgent course fixes or builds” that hovered around the beginning of the semester. Despite doing what we could to assist, I could never seem to explain to…

Thought Piece: Transforming Problem Sets into Authentic Assessments

September 18, 2017

Shelly Brazelle, an adjunct professor in Forensic Science at George Washington University, was drawn to the field like many others for the thrill of crime. TV shows like CSI and Forensic Files popping up, cast an allure revealing the drama and glamour of a career in Forensics. While there are still high stakes for her…

Instructional Design and Technology Teams: Work Experiences and Professional Development

April 22, 2017

The University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA) conducted a research study in the spring of 2017 to learn more about the professional development needs and work experiences of instructional designers, instructional technologists, multimedia designers, and their team leaders. The goal was to determine how similar the team leaders and the team members felt about…

The UPCEA eDesign Collaborative serves higher education instructional design teams (instructional designers, multimedia developers and team administrators) in higher education seeking networking and professional development.


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More Blogs + Updates from UPCEA

UPCEA’s Corporate Member Blog Series #1 | Follow the Budget: 5 Areas Where Higher Ed is Spending (and struggling) in 2026

The higher education landscape is arguably the toughest it has been in a generation, marked by economic instability, demographic decline, and the constant imperative for greater efficiency. The 2026 Landscape of Higher Education Report confirms this volatile reality: beginning in 2026, many institutions will face a sustained decline in traditional-aged undergraduates. Enrollment growth is now…

Workforce Pell Is Here and Data Readiness Is the Real Test for Credential Innovation

The expansion of Pell Grant eligibility to short-term, non-degree programs—commonly known as Workforce Pell—has become a defining moment for credential innovation. In a strategic conversation hosted by UPCEA in December 2025, higher education leaders made one thing clear: access to Workforce Pell is not primarily a policy challenge. It is a data challenge. As institutions…

Reduced-Credit Degrees: Leading with Learners While Preparing for Disruption

As questions about the value, cost, and structure of a traditional bachelor’s degree continue to intensify, higher education leaders are confronting a reality that has remained largely unchanged for decades: the 120-credit-hour degree is more a historical artifact than a learner-centered design choice. During a recent conversation with UPCEA Institutional Representatives, panelists and participants explored…

Pack Light, Go Far: Hiking the Enrollment Trail

There’s a moment from my college days I remember more clearly than any midterm I ever took. I had stepped away from my bachelor’s degree at Penn State because I wanted to live a little. I’d grown up in the same town that I went to college and I just needed an extended reprieve, something…

Preparing the Workforce for an AI-Driven Economy: An Online and Professional Continuing Education Imperative

Is your online and professional continuing education unit looking for ways to improve job-market outcomes for graduates and alumni? Are you exploring strategies that better align your program portfolio with the skills business and industry leaders say they need both for new hires and for upskilling current employees?  Recent employer data provides a clear signal that high-demand employees are ones with verified AI skills and practical experience. A 2025…

Workforce Pell Grants: Primer and Update from Negotiated Rulemaking | Policy Matters (December 2025)

Major Updates Workforce Pell Grants for Short-Term Programs: A Primer and Update from Negotiated Rulemaking: Consensus Reached – What’s in the Draft Regulations We’ve developed a blog that provides a primer and overview of the recent negotiated rulemaking work on Workforce Pell Grants for Short-Term Programs, focusing on the first week of sessions held by…