Online and Professional Continuing Education News
See below for a listing of curated news articles of the day brought to you by Ray Schroeder, Senior Fellow at UPCEA.
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- On-screen and now IRL: FSU researchers find evidence of ChatGPT buzzwords turning up in everyday speech - McKenzie Harris, Florida State University NewsRecent large-scale upticks in the use of words like “delve” and “intricate” in certain fields, especially education and academic writing, are attributed to the widespread introduction of LLMs with a chat function, like ChatGPT, that overuses those buzzwords. “The changes we are seeing in spoken language are pretty remarkable, especially when compared to historical trends,” […]
- Insights on today’s labor market: Uncertainty, agentic AI, and more - McKinseyIt’s Labor Day in North America, a day to recognize and celebrate the contributions of workers across the continent—and also reflect on the continued uncertainty and rapid change in today’s labor market. In a recent episode of McKinsey Talks Talent, Indeed’s chief economist Svenja Gudell joined McKinsey’s Brooke Weddle, Bryan Hancock, and Lucia Rahilly to […]
- Getting Ahead of EU AI Literacy Requirements – How Businesses Can Stay Compliant and Competitive - Jonathan Armstrong, European Business ReviewIn most companies, AI is being used in business functions from HR and marketing to customer service. Figures reveal 78% of global companies use AI, with 71% deploying GenAI in at least one function[i]. However, often employees don’t fully understand how these tools work, and this gap can no longer be ignored.The EU AI Act, […]
- Ep. 11 AGI and the Future of Higher Ed: Talking with Ray Schroeder - Unfixed: How AI is Reshaping Higher Education with Nick Janos and Zach Justus, PodcastIn this episode of Unfixed, we talk with Ray Schroeder—Senior Fellow at UPCEA and Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois Springfield—about Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and what it means for the future of higher education. While most of academia is still grappling with ChatGPT and basic AI tools, Schroeder is thinking ahead to AI […]
- Inside Higher Ed Survey Reveals Student Perspectives on Generative AI in Higher Education - SSB Crack NewsFactors driving academic dishonesty, particularly among peers, primarily included performance pressures (37 percent) and time constraints (27 percent). Interestingly, only 6 percent blamed unclear academic integrity policies for their peers’ actions concerning AI. This highlights a nuanced understanding of the challenges students face in a high-pressure environment where success is often linked to grades. Students […]
- Balancing AI And Human Intellect In Higher Education - Noreen Saher, The Friday TimesArtificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming higher education, particularly for research students who stand at the intersection of technological innovation and scholarly inquiry. AI offers unprecedented intellectual opportunities, yet it simultaneously presents profound challenges to academic integrity. The central task is not to privilege Artificial Intelligence (AI) over Original Intelligence (OI), or vice versa, but […]
- The impact of artificial intelligence on students’ 4C skills: A meta-analysis - Qian Tian, Xudong Zheng, Educational Research ReviewThe widespread integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in education has highlighted its potential to enhance students’ higher-order competencies, particularly the 4C skills (critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity). However, the effectiveness of AI in fostering these skills remains debated, primarily due to inconsistent findings across studies. To address this research gap, this study employs the […]
- Google's New Universal Translator AI is FREE & More AI Use Cases - The AI Advantage, YouTubeIn the first part of this podcast, the host discusses Google's new universal voice translator, a significant improvement in translation technology. This new feature, available as a free update to the Google Translate app, allows for real-time conversations between two people speaking different languages through a "conversation" feature. The translator is noted for its impressive […]
- San José Completes First City-Led AI Startup Grants - Scarlett Evans, AI BusinessThe city of San José California has announced the winners of its inaugural AI Incentive Program, the first city-run grant program of its kind in the U.S. Under the initiative, early-stage startups using AI to tackle everything from maternal health to food waste competed for public funding and professional services. From a pool of 170 […]
- How AI Is Changing—Not ‘Killing’—College - Colleen Flaherty, Inside Higher EdKey findings from Inside Higher Ed’s student survey on generative AI show that using the evolving technology hasn’t diminished the value of college in their view, but it could affect their critical thinking skills. Some of the results are perhaps surprising: Relatively few students say that generative AI has diminished the value of college, in […]
- Are microcredentials the future of education? How short-term programs are changing higher ed - Juliet Schulman-Hall, Mass LiveMicrocredentialing programs enable people to complete industry-certified certificates and credentials to enter the workforce or gain additional skills for a promotion. They can be used later as credits for an associate’s degree and are often more affordable than obtaining a degree. “You can get up to speed without having to have that commitment to a […]
- Mass Intelligence: From GPT-5 to nano banana: everyone is getting access to powerful AI - Ethan Mollick, One Useful ThingThere have been two barriers to accessing powerful AI for most users. The first was confusion. Few people knew to select an AI model. Even fewer knew that picking o3 from a menu in ChatGPT would get them access to an excellent Reasoner AI model, while picking 4o (which seems like a higher number) would […]
- Online Learning's Moment: How Colleges Struggle To Meet Rising Demand - Alison Griffin, ForbesNearly nine in 10 colleges plan to expand online programs to meet surging demand—a complete reversal from just two decades ago when policymakers actively restricted digital education. At that time, the “50% rule” required colleges and universities to seek special approval if more than half of their courses or programs went digital, or if more […]
- Ask the experts: How research and development labs prepare OPWL students for the workforce - Boise State OnlineThis systematic review aims to explore blended learning in vocational education (VE), where the benefits, challenges, and influence on student engagement will provide information on some recommendations that can be adopted to better design and implement. The need for this review arises from the global emphasis on technology-driven and flexible vocational training, given the rapid […]
- Could AI Crush the Ivy League? - Toby Stuart, US News OpinionA more frightening scenario is that universities and employers stick with yesterday’s playbook while AI takes on the work that once justified junior hires, leaving us with a generation of over-credentialed, under-employed alumni. A society that promises upward mobility but delivers diminishing returns on effort is a powder keg. Mishandle this transition, and we could […]
- Why did the CSU spend millions on ChatGPT amid a budget crisis? We asked school leaders - Julia Barajas, LAistCSU CIO Ed Clark explained. We were [also] seeing that some universities in our own system were starting to negotiate deals with these vendors, but then others couldn't afford to do that. So, we're thinking: “We're not going to create a digital divide within our own system. We're going to make sure that everybody has […]
- Colleges see significant drop in international students as fall semester begins - Elissa Nadworny, NPROver the last six months the Trump Administration has clamped down on international student visas, temporarily pausing and then revamping the student visa interview process and bringing more scrutiny to the vetting system. That led to long delays and meant many accepted students couldn't get appointments at embassies or consulates in time for the start […]
- Here are 4 pain points amid the new normal of online learning - Alcino Donadel, University BusinessThe rapid pace of AI development is transforming the online experience. More students will access AI tutoring and adaptive learning that create personalized programs. At the same time, respondents predicted declining prominence in full-time faculty and lecture-based instruction as central components to online learners’ experiences, as students rely instead on a mix of adjunct faculty […]
- A ‘Great Defection’ threatens to empty universities and colleges of top teaching talent - Jon Marcus, Hechinger ReportPaulina Cossette spent six years getting a doctoral degree with the goal of becoming a university professor. But it wasn’t long before she gave up on that path. With higher education under political assault, and opportunities as well as job security diminished by enrollment declines, Cossette felt burnt out and disillusioned. So she quit her […]
- Your next move: Thriving in a changing job market - McKinseyIn a job market marked by rapid change, many HR functions are still reacting to change rather than preparing for it—leaving gaps in workforce planning, hiring success, and skills development, according to McKinsey research from Julian Kirchherr, Vincent Bérubé, and coauthors. For individuals, that means opportunity for those ready to act. By building future-facing skills, […]
Other Curated News:
News from UPCEA:
Report: Who Stops Out of College and Why? (Inside Higher Ed)
[…] Jim Fong, chief research officer and director of the Center for Research and Strategy at UPCEA, said students will be greatly disadvantaged if colleges fail to anticipate the hurdles that cause them to leave. “Given the pandemic and the evolution of a new economy,…
What I Wish I Knew at the Time: Negotiating Agreements
In the summer of 2021, UPCEA surveyed Institutional Representatives (IRs) and Chief Online Learning Officers (COLOs) in order to understand the issues senior leaders were wrestling with at their institutions. One of the topics found in survey responses had to do with working with service…
Why Do Students Leave College Before Finishing? New Study Looks at Common Scenarios. (EdSurge)
When a student stops out of college before getting a degree, the college should act fast if it wants to get them back. That’s because there’s a correlation between how long a student has been disengaged and the likelihood that they’ll return. “As soon as…
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