Industry Insights

Valuable insights from UPCEA's trusted corporate partners.

Paid Search & SEO in Higher Ed: Are Our Search Marketing Priorities Right?

July 6, 2023

Key Insights The majority of Professional, Continuing, and Online Education units prioritize paid search advertising. This shows that institutions view search as an important part of a prospect’s journey — but a much smaller portion invest in SEO. Search engine optimization is worthy of ongoing investment. However, university marketing units and outsourced marketing providers don’t…

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How to Quantify Higher Education SEO ROI — “Show Me the Money,” Says the Dean

June 23, 2023

For higher education marketing strategies, SEO ROI is tricky to define. What is the return? What is the investment? Whose numbers do we even use? And how long do we have to wait to see that return on SEO investment? Higher education websites house tremendous “unseen treasure,” which adds value for SEO. ROI is the…

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Getting the Attention of Employers to Scale Your Microcredential Program

April 3, 2023

We read almost daily about the need for upskilling and reskilling the workforce and the opportunity for higher education institutions to provide training through microcredential programs. While a recent survey by Collegis Education and UPCEA confirms this need, the fact is many colleges and universities who offer microcredentials have realized only meager enrollments. For microcredential…

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Is Your Enrollment Management Function Set Up for Success?

March 9, 2023

If your school is investing heavily in creating brand awareness and generating leads at the top of the funnel (TOFU) but getting lackluster results, enrollment management issues lower in the funnel may be to blame. To achieve enrollment goals, you need a strong enrollment management foundation—a system for guiding prospective students beyond the initial awareness…

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How Supporting Student Veterans Benefits Your Institution

March 1, 2023

Student veterans make up approximately six percent of undergraduate college students and seven percent of graduate students (US Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics). While generally referred to as student veterans, this overarching title includes active-duty service members and those in the National Guard or Reserves. Precise information on the military-connected student population,…

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Other Blogs and News:

Reflecting on the 2025 UPCEA CCI Convening: Designing Intentional, Learner-Centric Pathways

At the inaugural UPCEA Council for Credential Innovation (CCI) Convening, leaders from across UPCEA member institutions came together to explore what it means to build truly learner-centric, intentional credential ecosystems—ones that align with institutional mission, ensure financial sustainability, and elevate the student experience. Hosted as the first in-person gathering of CCI representatives, the event served…

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Federal Grant Opportunities: Funding for Workforce Pell Programs and AI | Policy Matters (November 2025)

Major Updates Federal Grant Opportunities: Funding for Workforce Pell Programs and AI (Applications Due December 3) The Department of Education has launched a rapid grant competition under the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE–Special Projects), with applications due December 3, 2025. The program is designed in part to help institutions build or scale…

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Constructing the Future: Why Credential Innovation Needs Bold Leadership

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…

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Learning Mobility in Action: Removing Barriers and Recognizing the Whole Learner

Learning Mobility: A Movement Taking Shape At this year’s AACRAO Technology & Transfer: A Learning Mobility Summit, higher education leaders from UPCEA member institutions gathered to explore a question at the heart of the learner mobility movement: How can postsecondary institutions recognize, record, and reward all learning—wherever and however it occurs? Moderating this conversation alongside…

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Convergence in Action: Building Strategic Credential Frameworks Through Collaboration

At Convergence 2025, a conversation unfolded that perfectly captured the spirit of the event—collaboration across boundaries, disciplines, and traditions to create something more unified and learner-centered. In Convergence in Action: Strategic Credential Framework Collaborations Across Campus, I had the pleasure of moderating a panel featuring Elizabeth Kerr and Molly McDermott-Fallon of the University of Cincinnati…

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Don’t Bring a Brochure to a Robot Fight: Winning Page One and the AI Overview

Imagine your bellwether program stepping into a modern search arena with a glossy tri-fold and a storied reputation, ready to battle any challenger. Across the ring rolls a robotic rival as “The Imperial March” blares over the speakers. The ref signals start; a blinding spotlight from the robot makes your program vanish from view. The…

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