Industry Insights

Valuable insights from UPCEA's trusted corporate partners.

Future-Focused: Laying the Groundwork for Student Success with an Effective Orientation

July 1, 2024

Butler University has long been recognized for its commitment to providing high-quality education and fostering the development of well-rounded professionals. The Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program has been a cornerstone of the university’s academic offerings for decades. Through a continuous commitment to improvement, Butler has embraced innovative approaches to ensure its offerings remain relevant and…

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5 Strategies for Online Growth: New Insights from a Survey of Students

June 10, 2024

In a new national study of the preferences and expectations of online students, RNL has identified five interconnected strategies that institutions must have in place at the core of their growth strategy. The data are drawn from a survey of 1,500 prospective and current online students administered just two months ago.    The survey asked students…

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New guide offers colleges a playbook for building an in-house student coaching program

May 24, 2024

Fuel student support services on your campus — and sustain the impact for years to come The challenges facing higher ed today are both daunting and well-known: declining enrollment, student retention and staff burnout. The solutions, however, are harder to come by. With resources already stretched thin, how can colleges and universities build capacity for the…

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DIYing an OPM: Build, outsource, or blend?

May 3, 2024

Learner preference for digital experiences continues to rise as questions about the OPM model mount from regulatory bodies and OPM customers. UPCEA’s recent snap poll found that 61% of higher ed leaders anticipate making changes to their OPM partnerships in the next 1–2 years.   As colleges and universities contemplate developing internal capacity and expertise for…

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Higher Ed Marketing: A Corporate Approach for Institutional Success

February 28, 2024

By Kevin Phang, VP, Partnership Development, Marketing & Enrollment, Noodle Marketing plays a key role in shaping a company’s success, and in higher education it’s no different. Colleges, universities, and other institutions face more competition every year, and with market demands and trends in constant flux, the need for strategic, impactful marketing that delivers has…

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Other Blogs and News:

Microcredentials, Modularity, and Mission: Insights from UPCEA’s Coffee Chat on Innovation in Healthcare Education

In partnership with the HELIX Summit on Continuing Medical Education  How are institutions navigating the dynamic intersection of workforce demands, digital learning, and credentialing innovation—especially in healthcare? That’s exactly what we explored in a recent Coffee Chat, where UPCEA leaders from across the higher education landscape gathered for an unrecorded but powerfully candid conversation on…

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Leading with Values-Based Influence in Higher Education

Why Values-Based Influence Matters Now  Higher education is undergoing seismic shifts—demographic changes, budget constraints, AI disruption, and questions of relevance. In this environment, how we lead and why we lead matters as much as what we do as leaders. Leaders who operate from a strong internal compass—those grounded in values—offer clarity, stability, and hope.  Values-based…

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Accreditation + Skill-Based Learning Addressed in New Executive Orders | Policy Matters (April 2025)

Major Updates Accreditation, Foreign Support, Skill-Based Learning Addressed in New Trump Executive Orders The Trump administration has continued issuing an unprecedented number of executive orders with recent directives directly impacting colleges and universities, addressing topics like accreditation reform, foreign influence, skills-based learning (including alternative credentials), and support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Two…

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Online education booms in an era of lifelong learning (WorkingNation)

‘Strictly online institutions tend to serve working-age or older adults requiring flexible schedules constructed around family obligations and work. “Folks arrive at higher ed for a multitude of reasons,” says Julie Uranis, senior vice president of online and strategic initiatives for UPCEA (the Online and Professional Education Association), a resource for online university programs. “Online learning gives them…

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Your Lifelong Learning Journey’s “Breadcrumbs” – How to Tell Your Story

As avid backcountry hikers, years ago my family decided it would be prudent to buy a GPS, even though we had a rescue dog with an incredible sense of direction. While many out-and-back or even loop hikes didn’t require high-powered digital GPS coordinates to find our way back to our vehicle, we did appreciate launching…

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Key Findings from 2024 UPCEA Marketing Survey

As more and more institutions face internal and external pressures to identify and cultivate new revenue streams, many are turning to online and professional continuing education to attract new learners and address fiscal shortfalls. While this continued increase in supply undoubtedly benefits the student, it makes an already saturated market even more competitive. UPCEA’s 2024…

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