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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- Enhancing College Education Management with Artificial Intelligence - BioengineerIn an age where technology shapes our daily lives, the role of artificial intelligence in education is taking center stage. A recent study conducted by researcher Q. Lai sheds light on how AI can transform the management of college student education. The findings, soon to be published in the journal Discover Artificial Intelligence, mark a […]
- How I rehumanize the college classroom for the AI-augmented age - Shean Cho Ayers, the ConversationI am a college professor working at the intersection of humanities and artificial intelligence, and yes, I believe the latter not only threatens to devalue college, but it also risks stripping humanity from our lives altogether. It doesn’t have to be this way. AI automating away parts of work and life challenges the next generation […]
- AI Isn't Killing Education - John Nosta, Psychology TodayAI isn’t destroying learning, it’s exposing how education replaced thinking with ritual. Knowledge has shifted from static maps to living webs that demand judgment, not recall. The real risk isn’t ignorance, but fluent minds that no longer notice when thinking stops. For the first time, machines outperform humans in domains that education has long treated […]
- University-Developed AI Tool Helps Simplify Transfer Process - Abby Sourwine, GovTechA new tool developed by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, is helping colleges simplify transfer credit evaluation, potentially reducing labor and expediting decisions. About 120 college campuses across the U.S. are piloting a new artificial intelligence tool designed to make transfer course equivalencies clearer and more standardized. Credit transfer is a point of […]
- Universities must lead the world through change, ACU told - Brendan O’Malley, University World NewsInstability and crisis are increasingly the ‘new normal’ across the world, but universities should approach this as a landscape of opportunity, solidifying their role as anchors of stability and leaders of progress, the Association of Commonwealth Universities’ (ACU) Congress was told. As change hurtles towards us from all sides and in new forms, universities will […]
- 70% of employers have confidence in universities – Survey - Nathan M Greenfield, University World NewsSeventy per cent of employers indicate that they have either “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in America’s higher education institutions, according to a new survey by the American Association of Colleges & Universities (AAC&U). Another 23% indicated they had some confidence, with only 7% indicating “very little confidence”. Seventy-three per cent […]
- For the First Time, AI Analyzes Language as Well as a Human Expert - Steve Nadis, WiredThis view was summed up by Noam Chomsky, a prominent linguist, and two coauthors in 2023, when they wrote in The New York Times that “the correct explanations of language are complicated and cannot be learned just by marinating in big data.” AI models may be adept at using language, these researchers argued, but they’re […]
- Purdue unveils comprehensive AI strategy; trustees approve ‘AI working competency’ graduation requirement - Phillip Fiorini, PurduePurdue University on Friday (Dec. 12) unveiled a broad strategy of AI@Purdue across five functional areas: Learning with AI, Learning about AI, Research AI, Using AI and Partnering in AI. A key element of the comprehensive plan came as the Board of Trustees approved a first-of-its-kind plan in the country to introduce an “AI working […]
- 2025: The State of Generative AI in the Enterprise - Tim Tully, Joff Redfern, Deedy Das, Derek Xiao, MenloVenture funding surged back toward all-time highs, with nearly half of it concentrated in just a handful of frontier AI labs. Then the euphoria peaked. An MIT study2 claiming that 95% of generative AI initiatives fail rattled markets over the summer, exposing how quickly sentiment could shift beneath the weight of AI’s massive capex spend. […]
- Skills are the new hiring currency: 86% of employers say certificates show real job readiness - Preston Fore, ForbesNo longer does simply getting a degree guarantee career success; instead, employers are increasingly evaluating candidates based on demonstrable skills—and credentials that prove them. And a new report from Western Governors University released today, shared first exclusively with Fortune, underscores that shift: 86% of employers now see nondegree certificates as valuable indicators of job readiness. […]
- The Psychology of AI Doom - Andrew, the BatchIn this letter, I’d like to explore why some people who are knowledgeable in AI take extreme positions on AI “safety” that warn of human extinction and describe scenarios, such as AI deciding to “take over,” based less on science than science fiction. As I wrote in last year’s Halloween edition, exaggerated fears of AI […]
- Gpt-5.2 is the first human replacer -Wes Roth, YouTubeThis video by Wes Roth, published in December 2025, discusses the release of OpenAI's GPT-5.2, describing it as a massive leap forward rather than a small incremental update. The second half of the video focuses on the economic implications, specifically analyzing a new benchmark called "GDP-eval," which measures performance on real-world, economically valuable tasks. In […]
- Micro-credentials as shape-shifters: From learning to recognition - Simone Ravaioli, University World NewsWhat is perceived as ‘new’ is the shape – the naming, the framing, the emerging infrastructure around them. What is not new is the spirit – the longstanding practice of short, targeted, work-based learning tightly connected to capability and performance. Employers have always participated in lifelong learning, but they have never called it ‘micro-credentials’. This […]
- Bringing state-of-the-art Gemini translation capabilities to Google Translate - Rose Yao, the KeywordWe’re bringing Gemini’s most powerful translation capabilities to Google Translate for text, launching a beta experience for live speech-to-speech translations with headphones, and adding new languages to the app for practice and skill building. True understanding comes from not just what someone says, but also the nuance of how they say it. Today, Google Translate […]
- Introducing GPT-5.2 The most advanced frontier model for professional work and long-running agents. - OpenAIWe are introducing GPT‑5.2, the most capable model series yet for professional knowledge work. Already, the average ChatGPT Enterprise user says AI saves them 40–60 minutes a day, and heavy users say it saves them more than 10 hours a week. We designed GPT‑5.2 to unlock even more economic value for people; it’s better at […]
- Texas Christian University Commits $10M to Expand AI Use - Samuel O'Neal, Fort Worth Star-TelegramA private research university in Texas announced a partnership with Dell to accelerate the use of artificial intelligence on campus and implement an AI system that keeps critical data in-house. The partnership, called AI², is one of TCU’s largest-ever research and technology commitments. AI² will enrich the student learning experience and career preparation by expanding […]
- Universities must respond to students’ emotional reliance on AI - Agnieszka Piotrowska, Times Higher EdIf a student feels remembered by a machine but overlooked by humans, something in the educational contract has broken, says Agnieszka Piotrowska. One of my research students told me recently, almost apologetically, that he sometimes turns to ChatGPT “as an emotional crutch”. He said it seemed to understand him better than his therapist. When I […]
- AI in Higher Education: A Guide for Teachers - Alexandra Shimalla, EdTechFor many faculty members in higher ed, conversations about artificial intelligence in academia often include the same concerns: There isn’t enough time in the day, AI will erode critical thinking, educators are already stretched thin, and we have to consider compromised data and privacy concerns. The list of fears and frustrations from faculty go on, […]
- To AI-proof exams, professors turn to the oldest technique of all - Joanna Slater, Washington PostA growing number of educators are finding that oral exams allow them to test their students’ learning without the benefit of AI platforms such as ChatGPT. When students in Catherine Hartmann’s honors seminar at the University of Wyoming took their final exams this month, they encountered a testing method as old as the ancient philosophers […]
- From Microcredentials to AI: Online Learning Enters New Era - Aura Moreno, Mexico Business NewsThe online learning market is growing as organizations adopt remote learning, mobile-first platforms, and AI-enabled tutoring to address workforce skill gaps. Digital training is reshaping sectors such as staffing, aviation, customer service, and healthcare. Valued at US$15.2 billion in 2024, the market is projected to reach US$28.8 billion by 2033, expanding at a 7.5% CAGR […]
Other Curated News:
News from UPCEA:
Washington, D.C. – April 7, 2025 – UPCEA, the leading association for online and professional education, today announced the upcoming retirement of Jim Fong, its founding Chief Research Officer, after years of transformative leadership in the field of higher education research and consulting. Fong first…
Observations from a (Pretend) Prospective Student: The Do’s and Don’ts of Enrollment Communication
I’ve been through the college enrollment process before, and to be honest, it’s not exactly something that I wish to do again. And yet, as part of my role at UPCEA, I regularly step into the shoes of a prospective student during our Enrollment Process…
Data and Insights from the State of Continuing Education 2025 Report
The 2025 State of Continuing Education study examines the evolving role of online and professional continuing education (PCE) units in higher education, focusing on program offerings, institutional support, technology integration, and collaboration across academic units. This year’s findings highlight a growing emphasis on workforce-aligned education,…
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