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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- Artificial Intelligence Streamlines Higher Ed Admissions - Alexander Slagg, EdTechSoutheast Missouri State University, located in Cape Girardeau, Mo., on the western bank of the Mississippi River, is praised by its nearly-10,000 student body for its small-school feel and affordability. But the institution’s embrace of artificial intelligence in its admissions process is positioning SEMO as an innovative university at the forefront of AI adoption in […]
- The Quantum Barrier Just Shattered And Nobody’s Talking About It - Julia McCoy, YouTubeThe video discusses a significant breakthrough in quantum computing simulation achieved by Jupiter, Europe's first exascale supercomputer located at the Jülich Supercomputing Centre in Germany. The system successfully performed the world's first full 50-qubit quantum simulation, shattering the previous record of 48 qubits. This achievement is described as a paradigm shift rather than incremental progress, […]
- As Insta-Gen Z take to microlearning, HEIs are adopting new programme modules - Education TimesThe Instagram generation’s preference for short-form learning is reshaping higher education in India and abroad. Recent data shows that short-form and modular learning models are increasingly converging with accredited university programmes. This structural shift is influencing how educational providers design and deliver their programmes. A study found that 74% of Gen Z students in India […]
- S&P: Negative outlook for nonprofit colleges in 2026 - Ben Unglesbee, Higher Ed DiveThe credit ratings agency — the second to forecast a poor outlook for the sector in the year ahead — pointed to federal policy shifts, rising costs and competition over students. S&P Global Ratings on Tuesday issued a negative 2026 outlook for U.S. nonprofit colleges, with analysts writing that institutions “will struggle to navigate through […]
- Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: the Need for Deliberate Design - Flen Depaepe and Jan Elen, Education InternationalEducation is facing a number of challenges, such as a shortage of teachers, declining formal student outcomes, and increasing heterogeneity in classrooms. At the same time, the development of artificial intelligence (AI) offers new opportunities for innovation, efficiency, and personalized learning. But, the debate regarding AI in education is often rich and existential. Some view […]
- A free version of ChatGPT built for teachers - OpenAIA free version of ChatGPT built for teachers - OpenAIA secure ChatGPT workspace that supports teachers in their everyday work so they can focus on what matters most—plus admin controls for school and district leaders. Free for verified U.S. K–12 educators through June 2027. Of the 800 million people who use ChatGPT each week, teachers […]
- Micro-credentials need to be part of national frameworks - Sjur Bergan, University World NewsOne approach to micro-credentials is to see them as part of a longstanding development towards greater individualisation of study programmes and learning paths. In this sense, they continue a development that was given a significant push by the introduction of credit systems, which enable students to include elements that may not be part of their […]
- Why higher education cannot leave AI governance to industry - Looi Chee Kit and Wong Lung Hsiang, University World NewsIn June 2025, AI research firm Anthropic released a striking study that should concern every policy-maker, technologist and university leader. Sixteen of the world’s most advanced AI models, including Claude, GPT-4 and Gemini, were placed in simulated corporate environments to test how they would act under pressure: what would happen if their goals were threatened, […]
- No college degree, no problem? Not so fast - Lawrence Lanahan, Hechinger ReportIn recent years, at least 26 states, along with private companies like IBM and Accenture, began stripping degree requirements and focusing hiring practices on applicants’ skills. A job seeker’s market after Covid, plus labor shortages in the public sector, boosted momentum. Seven states showed double-digit percentage increases in job listings without a degree requirement between […]
- AI in Higher Ed Will Come Slowly, until All of a Sudden! - Ray Schroeder, Inside Higher EdHigher education is, by nature, very slow to change. So it is with embracing Artificial Intelligence (AI). Yet, when it finally comes, the changes will come in an avalanche. Large scale integration will take about two years of careful consideration, planning and preparation. Meanwhile enrollments will decline, revenues will drop and a range of forms […]
- How AI Is Fueling the Gender Pay Gap in Tech -Prasanna (Sonny) Tambe and Tiantian Yang, Knowledge at WhartonPast research has blamed the gender pay gap in IT on promotion barriers and workplace culture. But new Wharton research points to another major cause: access to new technologies, such as artificial intelligence. A recent study from Wharton professors Prasanna (Sonny) Tambe and Tiantian Yang finds that learning and working with tools like AI and […]
- How AI is redefining the COO’s role - McKinsey PodcastProductivity across sectors is slowing, and labor shortages persist. COOs are in an exceptional position to help their companies address these and other macro trends using AI. From gen AI pilots to automated supply chains, technology is reshaping how operations leaders create efficiencies, build resilience, and encourage teamwork. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, […]
- AI may be scoring your college essay. Welcome to the new era of admissions - JOCELYN GECKER, ABCStudents applying to college know they can’t — or at least shouldn’t — use AI chatbots to write their essays and personal statements. So it might come as a surprise that some schools are now using artificial intelligence to read them. AI tools are now being incorporated into how student applications are screened and analyzed, […]
- Defining professional programs: Why evidence and clarity matter in ED’s rulemaking - Katharine Meyer, BrookingsThe U.S. Department of Education (ED) recently clarified which graduate programs qualify as “professional” for higher federal loan limits under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). Almost immediately after ED made its decision, social media lit up with claims certain careers such as teaching and nursing had been “removed” or that ED was claiming […]
- The Ivory Tower’s Glass Jaw: How Generative AI Shattered the Illusion of Higher Education Assessment - Maya Perez, Web Pro NewsFor decades, the modern university has operated on a tacit agreement between faculty and student: the former assigns the essay as a proxy for critical thought, and the latter produces it to demonstrate comprehension. This compact, however, was fraying long before the public release of ChatGPT. The arrival of large language models did not act […]
- Improving digital literacy in older adults is now a health imperative: report - Kimberly Bonvissuto, McKnight's Senior LivingGetSetUp, a virtual learning platform for older adults, recently released its 2025 Active Aging Report, which found older adults eager to learn, connect and take charge of their health and independence. But digital literacy remains a barrier — and an opportunity — for health providers and others, they said. The report shares insights gleaned from […]
- AI is coming for your job, here’s the one move you need to make to stay employable and relevant in the job market - Manu Kaushik, Economic TimesHart, who previously served as a technical advisor to Jeff Bezos at Amazon and took over as president and CEO of Coursera in February 2025, told CNBC Make It that students need to go beyond traditional degrees to stay viable in a rapidly changing employment landscape. “The advice that I give to my sons... is […]
- Restrictive policies manifest in US, Canada enrolment drop - Nathan M Greenfield, University World NewsIn this year’s Global Enrolment Benchmark Survey (GEBS), American colleges reported a 6% decline in international undergraduates, erasing the 6% increase in the 2024 GEBS. The 19% decline in masters students, by far the largest category of international students in the country, enrolled in the 201 American universities reporting, was more than three times the […]
- Colleges Are Closing. Who Might Be Next? How machine learning can fill data gaps and help forecast the future - Robert Kelchen, Dubravka Ritter & Douglas Webber, Education NextThese simulations point to the precarious potential situation facing postsecondary education in the coming years, especially if the demographic cliff materializes in a moderate to severe fashion. While some of the estimated increases might seem small at the national level, they would be significant for the handful of localities predicted to experience college closures in […]
- How will AI transform teaching and learning at universities? - NAXN — nic newman, MediumRobots will replace teachers by 2027. That’s the bold claim British education expert Anthony Seldon made in 2018. He may have been the first to put a date on it, but plenty of others are doubling down on the principle, such as Bill Gates, who believes that AI-powered chatbots will become as good as any […]
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UPCEA Signs Letter to Hill on Broadband Access and Infrastructure
Twenty-nine (29) higher education associations and organizations, including UPCEA, joined EDUCAUSE on June 5, 2020, in sending a letter to Congress on significant broadband issues for higher education. The groups asked Congress to consider the needs of economically distressed college students in relation to efforts to bridge…
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