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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- Leadership Vision of the COLO to Shape Higher Ed Future? - Ray Schroeder, Inside Higher EdThe 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 EdAlthough 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 EdThe 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 EdNearly 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 WhartonNew 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, GovTechAs 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 MagIn 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 - McKinseyLeadership, 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, WCIACanvas 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 VoiceAmid 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, NatureGenerative 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 EdArizona 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 DiveA 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 BlogArtificial 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, NatureGenerative 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 EdThe 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 EdBut 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 […]
- East Carolina University plans to cut 44 academic programs - Ben Unglesbee, Higher Ed DiveEast Carolina University plans to discontinue 44 undergraduate and graduate programs “that aren’t meeting expectations” after an internal review of its portfolio, the public institution said Friday in a news release. ECU has teach-out plans for students enrolled in the programs slated for closure, senior leaders said last week in a community memo. The university […]
- College students are changing course in search of ‘AI-proof’ majors. But no one knows what they are - JOCELYN GECKER and LINLEY SANDERS, Associated PressTwo years ago, Josephine Timperman arrived at college with a plan. She declared a major in business analytics, figuring she’d learn niche skills that would stand out on a resume and help land a good job after college. But the rise of artificial intelligence has scrambled those calculations. The basic skills she was learning in […]
- How AI is Reshaping the Future of Work - Stanford University Graduate School of BusinessArtificial intelligence is reshaping how work happens. It is changing daily workflows, influencing how teams make decisions, and pushing leaders to rethink how organizations are structured. As with any major shift, the impact depends less on the technology itself and more on the conditions leaders create around it. As AI becomes more common across industries, the […]
Other Curated News:
News from UPCEA:
The Innovation Continuum: Planning for What Is Next
It is human nature to experience a new technology and think that’s the ultimate version of such technologies. We too often fail to recognize that the latest iteration of a development is only one station along the continuum of developments. We focus on the current…
Preparing Students for the AI-Enhanced Workforce
Our graduating and certificate-completing students need documented generative AI skills, and they need them now. The common adage repeated again and again is that AI will not take your job; a person with AI skills will replace you. The learners we are teaching this fall…
University of Texas System Bets Big on Microcredentials (Inside Higher Ed)
As the saying goes, everything is bigger in Texas. And now going big applies to microcredentials. The University of Texas System, spanning nine academic campuses with roughly 240,000 students, is expanding its partnership with microcredential provider Coursera. The initiative announced last month is Coursera’s largest,…
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