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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  • Jeff Rubin ’95 on AI, Digital Transformation, and Syracuse’s Connected Future - Syracuse University
    Jeff Rubin ’95 has spent decades building technology systems designed to scale. From founding SIDEARM Sports into one of the most widely used digital platforms in college athletics to now serving as Syracuse University’s first Senior Vice President for Digital Transformation and Chief Digital Officer, his career has centered on one question: how can technology […]
  • From Restriction to Integration: Practical Strategies for Embracing AI in Online Courses - Taoufik Ennoure, Faculty Focus
    Instead of prohibiting the use of AI, it is more effective to assign tasks that require students to use AI tools and then have them critically assess the outputs. In asynchronous online courses with less frequent instructor interaction, I have adopted a new approach to enhance engagement in weekly discussions. I ask students to use […]
  • Micro Credentials Reshaping Learning While Degrees Remain Relevant - Asia News Network
    As global education systems evolve to meet rapidly changing workforce demands, micro credentials are gaining traction as a flexible complement to traditional degrees rather than a replacement, according to international policy bodies and education experts. Micro credentials, defined by the European Union as certifications of “learning outcomes of short-term learning experiences,” are designed to provide […]
  • Leadership Vision of the COLO to Shape Higher Ed Future? - Ray Schroeder, Inside Higher Ed
    The chief online learning officers at colleges and universities are increasingly charting the future of teaching and learning. We are now on the cusp of a significant adjustment in the model of higher education.  Who else within the institution’s administration has the combination of technological, pedagogical and innovative knowledge and experience to lead us into […]
  • Instructure Pays Ransom to Canvas Hackers - Kathryn Palmer, Inside Higher Ed
    Although the monetary value of the deal is unknown, Instructure says the cybercriminals have returned the hacked personal data and offered assurance “that no Instructure customers will be extorted as a result of this incident.” Instructure has paid a ransom to a gang of cybercriminals that have twice hacked the company’s learning management system, Canvas, […]
  • UW System Will Give Raises to Faculty in High-Demand Fields - Inside Higher Ed
    The University of Wisconsin system will give more than 2,300 faculty in high-demand fields a pay raise this summer, The Cap Times reported. The State Legislature appropriated $27 million annually for the increases, which will be doled out with the “goal of focusing on market competitiveness of those faculty in high demand fields of study,” […]
  • What’s Behind a Drop in New Adult Learners This Fall? - Inside Higher Ed
    Nearly 16 percent fewer adults started college for the first time this fall compared to the previous year. Some say the change represents rightsizing after an enrollment boom, but others say it’s a reversal worth keeping an eye on. In the economic upheaval that followed the COVID-19 pandemic, adult students flocked to higher education in […]
  • Why Women Need Other Women at Work - Angie Basiouny, Knowledge at Wharton
    New research from Wharton’s Tiantian Yang proves that behind every great woman is another woman. Her co-authored study on virtual career training found that women who attended remote classes exclusively with other women were much more likely to complete their training on time, earn professional certification, and get a job in their field — compared […]
  • AI Agents in Education: What’s Working and What’s Missing - Abby Sourwine, GovTech
    As universities pilot agentic AI for advising and administrative tasks, its place in teaching and learning remains unclear. Experts say decision-makers will need to look carefully at reliability, risks and partners. “We are in the earliest days,” said Nicole Engelbert, vice president of product strategy for student systems at Oracle. “Take a side eye on […]
  • 10 Top Websites Offering Free Online Courses - Academia Mag
    In today’s digital age, online learning has become one of the most powerful ways to gain knowledge, improve skills, and build a successful career. Whether you want to learn digital marketing, graphic design, coding, business management, or artificial intelligence, there are countless platforms available online. The good news is that many of these platforms provide […]
  • Courageous conversations: How to lead with heart - McKinsey
    Leadership, at its best, is a matter of the heart. Courage, which underpins every act of leadership, is also a matter of the heart; it comes from the French word cœur—heart. As Winston Churchill observed, “Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities, because . . . it is the quality which guarantees all […]
  • UPDATE: Canvas restored at U of I, final exams rescheduled - Ethan Holesha, Molly Sweeney, Bradley Zimmerman, WCIA
    Canvas has been restored at the University of Illinois and the final exams that have already been affected by it are being rescheduled. In a Massmail to students and staff on Saturday at 11:51 a.m., U of I provost John Coleman said Canvas at the university is now online and available to the community. As […]
  • Mountain View-based Khan Academy partners with nonprofits to build online AI degree program - Emma Montalbano, Moutain View Voice
    Amid emerging conversations about the future of white collar jobs in the age of artificial intelligence, Sal Khan thinks that now is the time to create something he’s been thinking about for years — a new pathway for higher education. Khan Academy, an online learning platform headquartered in Mountain View, TED, a nonprofit that aims […]
  • Teach students to ask better questions with Artificial Intelligence - Yiming V. Wang & Christoph Heubeck, Nature
    Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) has entered university classrooms at a remarkable speed, challenging not only how students learn but also how teachers can tell where thinking is happening1,2,3. AI use shows more than rapid adaptation to a new tool: it also exposes how academic training has long shaped the questions students ask. Conventionally, many questions […]
  • Faculty Concerned About ASU’s ‘Frankensteinian’ AI Course Builder - Emma Whitford, Inside Higher Ed
    Arizona State University soft launched a web app earlier this month that allows anyone, for $5 per month, to create an apparently unlimited number of customized “learning modules” using artificial intelligence. The AI chatbot, called Atom, uses online instructional materials from ASU professors to create a course that’s tailored to the goals, interests and skill […]
  • State lawmakers eye accreditation policy changes as new agency forms - Daniele McClean, Higher Ed Dive
    A growing number of Republican-controlled states have introduced legislative and policy proposals that would allow their public colleges to leave their long-standing accreditors for a newly founded accrediting body. The Commission for Public Higher Education, a nascent accrediting body, is moving to potentially take on those and other public institutions as members. The CPHE is […]
  • The Impact of AI on Engineering Jobs - Intuit Blog
    Artificial intelligence has become fundamental enough to shift traditional engineering roles, changing how engineers work and the work itself. 88% of organizations now use AI in at least one business function. Engineers are using AI to tackle complex real-world problems, with applications spanning predictive maintenance, design optimization, and automation. AI’s impact on engineering is just […]
  • Teach students to ask better questions with Artificial Intelligence - Yiming V. Wang & Christoph Heubeck, Nature
    Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) has entered university classrooms at a remarkable speed, challenging not only how students learn but also how teachers can tell where thinking is happening1,2,3. AI use shows more than rapid adaptation to a new tool: it also exposes how academic training has long shaped the questions students ask. Conventionally, many questions […]
  • Board Ouster Raises Further Concerns About NSF’s Future - Ryan Quinn, Inside Higher Ed
    The Trump administration’s decision to fire the entire board that oversees the National Science Foundation is another blow to American science that threatens the country’s global leadership, multiple higher ed and research advocacy groups warned, as did ousted board members. They added that the move could further destabilize the agency, which is a major university […]
  • How should universities define AI proficiency? - Junghwan Kim, Inside Higher Ed
    But what does “AI readiness” mean? I began reframing that question after attending a global technology gathering of 148,000 attendees and more than 4,000 companies in Las Vegas this January. At CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2026, leaders from Nvidia, AMD and OpenAI described the future of AI. I saw robots playing table tennis and AI […]

Other Curated News: 

News from UPCEA: 

Experts Predict More Digital Innovation by 2030 Aimed at Enhancing Democracy (Pew Research Center Internet & Technology)

“Americans and many around the world are not terribly satisfied with the state of democracy and the institutions that undergird it. Experts who were canvassed about the relationship between people’s technology use and democracy also expressed serious concerns about how things will unfold in the next decade. […] Ray…

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Policy Matters | Many Regulations Taking Effect July 1 (June 2020)

COVID 19 – CARES Act Funding + Reopening Policies The past few months have been confusing for institutions wishing to disburse COVID-19 emergency grant dollars due to the Department of Education changing allocation calculations and requirements, including eligibility for who can receive grants from the…

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Marketing and Enrollment Management in a Time of Uncertainty

Marketing and Enrollment Management in a Time of Uncertainty

Institutions of higher education are faced with major challenges and have leaned toward many of their professional, continuing and online (PCO) education units to not only assist with bringing traditional teaching faculty into a more aggressive world of online learning, but to also supplement lost…

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