Industry Insights

Valuable insights from UPCEA's trusted corporate partners.

Understanding the Evolving Needs of Online Learners

August 4, 2025

Every year, the Voice of the Online Learner report offers a window into the motivations, preferences, and challenges of today’s online students. Now in its 14th year, the 2025 edition provides timely insights for UPCEA members seeking to design courses and programs that meet the needs of adult learners, employers, and communities. At Risepoint, we’re…

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Rebuilding Student Trust: 6 Coaching Strategies to Support Belonging for Online and Adult Learners

July 28, 2025

Rebuilding Student Trust: 6 coaching strategies to support belonging for online and adult learners How institutions can help online and adult learners feel seen and supported throughout their college journey In today’s higher education landscape, more adult learners are enrolling in online programs, often while managing work, family and other life commitments. However, these motivated…

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Transdisciplinary Credentials: The Smartest Way to Future-Proof a Degree

July 18, 2025

Why academic institutions are embedding IT credential content into programs far beyond computer science. The new reality: every field is a tech field Whether you’re studying law or logistics, public health or public policy, tech skills are no longer optional. From automation to data security to compliance, today’s workforce expects professionals to be as comfortable…

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The AI Literacy Crisis—and How Higher Ed Can Lead

July 3, 2025

Consider the humble pocketknife. For most owners, it cuts a fishing line or opens a bottle. But in the right hands, it becomes a tool of precision and creativity. Now, consider Artificial Intelligence. Vastly more complex, AI is also a tool—one that, depending on the user, can serve as a shortcut or a source of…

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Steadying the Ship: Why Professional Coaching Matters in Turbulent Times

June 30, 2025

The pace and pressure of academic leadership have intensified. Many leaders are navigating increased responsibilities, constrained resources, political tension, and widespread fatigue. In this environment, clarity, presence, and sustained energy are essential and precious. To lead effectively, leaders must protect their most limited resource: their focus and energy. Coaching provides a structured space to do…

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Other Blogs and News:

How to Build Strong Employer Partnerships to Support Student Success

Now, possibly more than ever, it is critically important for colleges and universities to engage with employers for the benefit of our students. Higher education is facing an unprecedented time. The demographic cliff is upon us, the current political environment has led to policy whiplash and has upended funding sources for research. Our campuses have…

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Artificial Intelligence is Non-Negotiable for Higher Education Marketing and Enrollment Management

Why Institutional Leaders Can No Longer Afford to Wait on AI adoption The clock is ticking for higher education institutions that haven’t fully embraced AI. What was once an experimental advantage in marketing and enrollment has quickly become an urgent necessity. AI has firmly established itself as an operational imperative across diverse industries, with the…

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Congress Passes President Trump’s OBBB—Workforce Pell Included, but Higher Ed Gets $300 Billion Slash | Policy Matters (July 2025)

Major Updates Congress Passes President Trump’s OBBB—Workforce Pell Included, but Higher Ed Gets $300 Billion Slash President Trump’s newly signed One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) overhauls the federal approach to higher education policy. Short-term Pell advocates (of which UPCEA has been a long supporter) have something to be thankful for, as it opens Workforce…

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Synchronizing Pathways: Advancing the National Dialogue on Credentials and Learning Mobility

Incubator grant supports critical work to align data practices and learning mobility frameworks to benefit today’s learners WASHINGTON July 31, 2025 – UPCEA, the online and professional education association, has launched a national initiative to advance credential transparency and learner mobility through improved data quality and institutional capacity-building. The project titled, “Synchronizing Pathways: Expanding Institutional…

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Accelerating Institutional Capacity for Employer Engagement in Credential Innovation

As the future of work rapidly evolves, higher education institutions must accelerate their capacity to engage with employers—building bridges between learning and labor market relevance. At UPCEA, with support from Walmart, the world’s largest employer, we’ve undertaken two major initiatives to strengthen these bridges. The first project provided foundational benchmarking data, a practical playbook, and…

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UPCEA Recognizes 2025 Award Recipients at the Summit for Online Leadership and Administration Conference (SOLAR)

Association Award Recipients Highlighted at Event WASHINGTON (July 17, 2025) – UPCEA, the online and professional education association, is pleased to recognize the recipients of this year’s online and distance education awards. Award recipients will be showcased at the Summit for Online Leadership and Administration (SOLAR) Conference, July 22-24 in Portland, Oregon. The annual SOLAR…

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