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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- Tenure-Track Ranks Grew Last Year, Survey Finds - Kathryn Palmer, Inside Higher EdThe number of faculty—including those on the tenure track—is on the rise, new data from College and University Professional Association for Human Resources shows. According to a survey of more than 900 colleges and universities about their worker head counts published this week, the number of tenure-track faculty increased 7 percent between the 2024–25 and […]
- Colleges made deep staff cuts while adding tenure-track faculty last year - Ben Unglesbee, Higher Ed DiveFull-time staff at colleges dropped 6.6% in 2025 compared to the year before, ending several years of growth, according to data released Wednesday by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources. The decline was even sharper among part-time staff, whose ranks plunged by 23.9% last year, CUPA-HR’s latest survey data showed. However, faculty […]
- Report: Benchmarking Online Ed - Colleen Flaherty, Inside Higher EdLast year, the online and professional education association UPCEA urged institutions to close the gap between student expectations on institutional preparedness for online learning as part of its annual report on the Benchmarking Online Enterprises Survey. This year’s report, released Monday, warns that the story beneath the 2026 data isn’t one of a “rising tide […]
- Bankrupt Anna Maria College to sell nursing program for $1.1M - Ben Unglesbee, Higher Ed DiveAfter closing abruptly this year, the Catholic institution is trying to pay off millions of dollars in debt. Anna Maria College, in Massachusetts, plans to sell its nursing program for $1.1 million to nearby Assumption University next month, according to court documents filed Monday. Anna Maria closed this year following its spring term due to […]
- With New AI Requirements and Courses, Colleges Eye AI Fluency - Emma Whitford, Inside Higher EdTheir approaches may differ but their motivations are the same: Employers are, at breakneck speed, increasingly asking for graduates who know how to effectively use AI. It’s called AI fluency, said Ray Schroeder, a senior fellow at the online and professional education association UPCEA, and it “can be a decisive factor between getting a job […]
- Organizational AI Adoption Jumps Six Points - Andy Kemp, GallupReported organizational adoption of AI grew sharply in Q2 2026. Forty-seven percent of U.S. employees now say their organization has integrated AI tools to improve productivity, efficiency or quality, up from 41% in the last quarter. One in five employees remain unsure as to whether their organization has integrated AI tools, unchanged from prior quarters. […]
- Worker Anxiety Over AI Is Growing, and Employers Aren't Preparing Employees for What's Next, New Survey Finds - JFF.orgIn a marked shift from a year ago, workers are now more likely to say AI is a net-negative than a net-positive when it comes to finding jobs, building wealth, and securing their quality of life, according to a new national survey released today by national nonprofit Jobs for the Future (JFF). The survey, conducted […]
- Once globally preeminent, U.S. universities are sliding into decline - Jon Marcus, Hechinger ReportNow, as a new academic year begins, American dominance in higher education globally is incontrovertibly in decline, according to data, international rankings and independent experts. The slide has been accelerated by a year and a half of funding cuts, restrictions on international students and curbs on what can be said or taught. But it began […]
- Private Colleges Are Losing Their Safest Market Position. The Middle Is Where Demand Dies First - Soren Kaplan, Inc.Higher education’s squeeze shows why leaders with neither premium power nor low costs can be first to crack when demand turns against them badly. Private colleges now discount their sticker price by a record 57 percent for first-year students, and net tuition revenue is falling. On July 1, new federal caps on student loans took […]
- New self-paced AI training courses launch - Purdue UniversityTeaching and Learning Technologies (TLT) has launched a new set of Artificial Intelligence Training Courses to help Purdue instructors and staff use AI confidently and responsibly in their day-to-day work. The four self-paced courses cover AI policy and ethics, approved tools, and practical ways to apply AI to teaching, research, and administrative tasks. TLT built […]
- Why college students are paying way less for course materials now - Alcino Donadel, University BusinessCollege students are spending markedly less on textbooks and other course materials than they were two decades ago thanks to the continued expansion of digital learning. Students spent $388 on course materials for the entire 2025-26 academic year. That’s 26% less than five years ago and about 50% less than in 2007-08, when students paid […]
- College costs for families up 10% from last year, poll finds - Natalie Schwartz, Higher Ed DiveCollege costs for families averaged $34,019 during the 2025-26 academic year, up 10% from the previous year, according to an annual report from financial services company Sallie Mae. Families paid out of pocket for 49% of those costs — which include tuition, fees, housing and other expenses — drawing from student and parent income and […]
- More Than a Virtual Class: How BU Virtual Brings the Classroom to Students Around the World - Boston University VirtualFor a student logging into a live session in one of Boston University’s online graduate programs, the experience can look deceptively simple: a faculty member appears on screen, classmates join from around the world, and the class begins. What students don’t see is everything happening around that moment. Behind each live online class is a […]
- UC introduces AI Buddy Program for staff amid learning, privacy concerns - Andrew Ramiro Diaz, Daily BruinThe UC launched a new initiative in July that encourages staff to learn more about how to use artificial intelligence tools. The AI Buddy Program pairs UC Office of the President staff at differing levels of AI expertise to meet once or twice a week and learn from each other. The program sign-up form allows […]
- AI agents are sitting through students’ online courses, and colleges are struggling to stop them - Varun Mirchandani, Digital TrendsAI cheating has already gone from asking a chatbot to write an essay to using tools that can make that AI-written work look human. We’ve previously talked about AI tools designed to help students cheat and the growing problem of AI detectors struggling to keep up, as well as how commonly students are already using […]
- Author Talks: The biggest misconceptions about leadership - McKinseyWhat if success depends less on talent than on luck, resilience, and your choices when things go wrong? Former Inflection CEO Mike Grossman challenges conventional wisdom about success and leadership. In this edition of Author Talks, McKinsey’s Artemis Vallianatos speaks with Mike Grossman, six-time Silicon Valley CEO and McKinsey alumnus, about Failure Is An Option: […]
- Lifelong learning remains central to Mayo Clinic’s mission amid rapid healthcare change - Matthew Brenden, Mayo ClinicHealthcare is evolving at an unprecedented pace. Advances in artificial intelligence, precision medicine, digital health and quality improvement are transforming how care is delivered, while new knowledge and evolving professional standards require clinicians to continually adapt. For healthcare organizations, keeping pace is about more than meeting licensure or certification requirements. It requires a workforce prepared to respond to emerging […]
- One New Thing: Virtual Reality Brings Collaborative Learning to Life - Melissa Morriss-Olson, US NewsPurdue University’s Envision Center has developed CollabXR, an extended reality platform that allows faculty and students to enter the same immersive virtual environment and interact with three-dimensional models together. During a spring 2025 pilot, instructors in disciplines ranging from nursing and aeronautics to the liberal arts used the platform to help students visualize and explore […]
- From Workshop to Anytime: Bringing Live Training Online - Office of Innovative Technologies (UK)Some of the most valuable learning opportunities on campus happen in workshops. Whether they happen in a conference room or over Zoom, they create energy, connection, and opportunities for real-time questions. Workshops support learning and engagement across campus throughout the year. What a single session can’t do is reach everyone who needs it or remain […]
- How to Leverage Tech to Serve Rural Communities - Catherine Han and Heather Marriott, NCOAThe MAC, Inc., Maryland Living Well Center of Excellence (LWCE) is using technology to break down barriers for older adults in Smith Island and across Dorchester, Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester counties. All are regions marked by transportation limitations, health access challenges, and geographic isolation. Yet LWCE has become a beacon of innovation in aging services. […]
Other Curated News:
News from UPCEA:
UPCEA Co-Signs Letter with ACE and Other Organizations in Response to Department of Education’s Feb. 14, 2025 Dear Colleague Letter (American Council on Education) “The stated purpose of the DCL is to “provide clarity to the public regarding existing legal requirements” for colleges and universities…
Higher Education Leaders Align on Guiding Principles for Learning and Employment Records
LER Accelerator champions interoperable credentialing systems to advance workforce development and learner empowerment. Washington, DC – February 26, 2025 – In a landmark collaboration, 12 leading national associations have adopted a unified set of core principles for advancing Learning and Employment Records (LERs). This collective…
I had the pleasure recently to participate in a lifelong learning session with a group of mostly current or retired educators at my nearby Lincoln Land Community College. The topic was AI in education. It became clear to me that many in our field are…
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