Industry Insights

Valuable insights from UPCEA's trusted corporate partners.

The Right Message at the Right Moment: How Smarter Enrollment Operations Boost Retention and Student Success

November 20, 2025

Student success starts with the right conversation. By uniting data, technology, and human connection, institutions can shift from reactive outreach to proactive engagement that strengthens trust, equity, and long-term retention. Every Student Is a Story, Not a Segment “On the other side of every data point, every phone number, every email address, there’s a person…

AI Search in Higher Education: The Student Search Trends You Can’t Ignore

October 24, 2025

Search behavior has evolved, and so has the path to enrollment. Generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google’s AI Overviews shape how people gather information, verify details, and form opinions. For higher education marketers, that means program visibility depends on showing up wherever students look for answers, not only in search results but across…

Reflections from Convergence 2025: Lessons in Agility, Leadership, and Lifelong Learning

October 16, 2025

There are few conferences that truly bring together such an inspiring mix of vision, innovation, and authenticity as UPCEA’s Convergence. This year, the event in Washington D.C. proved why it’s one of my favorite gatherings in the field of continuing education. The energy, the openness, and the collective drive to redefine learning for a changing…

AI and Cybersecurity: The New Power Couple on Campus

October 10, 2025

Innovation attracts attention, and not all of it good. Protecting data, students, and credibility now means securing every AI experiment before it secures you.   The Bright Side, and the Blind Spots, of AI in Higher Ed AI is higher ed’s new favorite partner and, like any power couple, it comes with complications. It’s rewriting…

Workforce Pell Is Now Law Under the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB)

October 6, 2025

Is your institution ready to deliver, comply, and compete? This update is intended to highlight key portions of the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) that affect colleges and universities. The goal is not to offer opinion, but to bring clarity around the law’s implications—especially the arrival of Workforce Pell. The OBBB is a broad, multi-issue…

Other Blogs and News:

UPCEA Announces 2026 Association Award Recipients

9 Individuals and 6 Programs Receive Association’s Highest Honors WASHINGTON, February 9, 2026 – UPCEA, the online and professional education association, has announced the recipients of the 2026 Association Awards. The UPCEA Association Awards program includes recognition of both individual and institutional achievement across the UPCEA membership. Since 1953, UPCEA has recognized its members’ outstanding…

UPCEA Congratulates Members Recognized in the 2026 U.S. News & World Report Ranking of Best Online Bachelor’s Programs

Nineteen of the twenty-three Top 20 Ranked Institutions are UPCEA Members WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 5, 2026) — UPCEA, the online and professional education association, is pleased to congratulate the many UPCEA members recognized in the 2026 U.S. News & World Report Best Online Programs rankings. U.S. News rankings include nearly 1,850 online programs, covering bachelor’s…

New Research Highlights a Disconnect Between University Retention Strategies and Adult Learner Priorities

National study from Collegis Education and UPCEA highlights opportunity for institutions to strengthen student persistence through better alignment of strategy, systems, and support WASHINGTON, D.C. and CHICAGO, IL – February 4, 2026 — ​​ As adult learners account for a growing share of higher education enrollment, colleges and universities face increasing pressure to sustain persistence in…

When Institutions Shop Themselves: What We Learn—and Often Miss

As my retirement last year eases into a stage of semi-retirement or what some have labeled as “micro-retirement,” I have had eight months of reflection on my nearly four decades of doing research. After a few months of total abstention, I could no longer keep myself away from the higher education field that I so loved. I slowly eased myself back in by…

Institutional Adoption of Microcredentials Plateaus as Workforce Focus Accelerates, New Study Finds

New study from UPCEA, The EvoLLLution, and Modern Campus highlights the growing importance of strategic alignment to sustain credential innovation TORONTO and WASHINGTON, D.C., February 3, 2026 — Higher education leaders continue to recognize the value of microcredentials for workforce development and professional advancement, but institutional adoption and perceived fiscal impact have stalled, according to…

Consensus Achieved on New Accountability Metrics at AHEAD Negotiated Rulemaking | Policy Matters (January 2026)

Major Updates Education Department AHEAD Negotiated Rulemaking Wraps Up; Consensus Achieved on New Accountability Metrics The Department of Education’s AHEAD negotiated rulemaking committee has now wrapped its winter work with consensus language on the program accountability portion, following the committee’s earlier consensus on Workforce Pell regulatory text. Now that consensus has been reached, ED is…