UPCEA in the News Archive
eCampusNews
If online learning is to succeed not only as a legitmate option for learning but as a respected platform within an institution, leadership has to build that respect through calculated risks and building multi-departmental relationships.
That was the main takeaway from an EDUCAUSE conference panel on the "UPCEA Hallmarks of Excellence in Online Leadership," based on a newly released report from UPCEA (University Professional and Continuing Education Association).
Chicago Tribune
"There's been a transformation of learning recently," said Jim Fong, director of the University Professional & Continuing Education Association's Center for Research & Consulting. "This is a lower-risk alternative for a number of people for a variety of reasons. The perceived value of a traditional degree is changing."
Education and Career News
Higher education is more important than ever in America. Unemployment among those who hold at least a four-year degree is now 2.8 percent (Inside Higher Ed, “The New Bachelor’s Payoff”)—less than half of the overall national unemployment rate. Historically, students would enter a college or university and live on or near campus for four or more years, dedicated to studying and learning. But society has changed, and learning has become a lifelong activity necessary to keep up with workplace and career demands.
The Evolllution
One of the main goals for today’s non-traditional students is using their higher education experience as a jumping-off point for their career. This, unfortunately, is also one of the areas where colleges and universities have had the most trouble creating value for their students. Degrees are still the main form of postsecondary currency, but employers and the general public question their value. Transcripts are not designed in such a way that employers can understand them and short courses and certificates unfortunately fall into the same category.
In this interview, the 2015-2016 UPCEA President David Schejbal shares his thoughts on what it’s going to take for higher education institutions to overcome this challenge to their value.
Inside Higher Ed
Attending college full time isn't always the best way to get to graduation, at least for adult community college students who have previously pursued a degree and dropped out.
That's the central finding of a new study from a coalition of five higher education groups. The data are based on 12 million student records from the National Student Clearinghouse.
The American Council on Education (ACE), InsideTrack, NASPA: Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, and the University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA) worked with the Clearinghouse to track the graduation and retention rates of non-first-time students.
NBC News
....Some 77 percent of full-time students entering college in 2008 earned a degree in six years, compared with just 43 percent of students who attended a mix of part time and 21 percent of entirely part-time students, the study found.
"It still amazes me, the degree to which the recognition of the massive demographic shift in the American student body is still an unknown fact for most Americans," said Robert Hansen, chief executive of the University Professional & Continuing Education Association. His organization estimates that just 15 percent of college students today are full-time, first-time students living on campus.
Spectrem's Millionaire Corner
The concept of college being a four-year experience at one location is changing rapidly and frequently, according to a new national study.
The National Student Clearinghouse reports that more than half of college students in the United States today either go to school part-time, transfer at least once or do not start immediately after high school. These students are much less likely to get their degrees in the normal four or five years for a bachelor's or two years for an associates, the study states.
CNBC
Think of college and, chances are, you picture 18-year-olds strolling across a leafy campus on their way from dorm to class.
That is not reality for most college students today.
More than half of college students today attend part time, do not start right after high school, transfer at least once or experience some combination of all three, according to new research from the National Student Clearinghouse. These nontraditional students are much less likely to earn a bachelor's degree in six years, or an associate's degree in three, than their younger, full-time counterparts.
NBC News
EDUCAUSE Review
Information technology continues to have a major impact on the evolution of higher education, constantly creating new opportunities and challenges for all aspects of the institution. In the "IT Matters" department of EDUCAUSE Review, EDUCAUSE asks representatives of major stakeholder communities to reflect on how IT developments have changed their world and may continue to do so in the future and also on what those changes mean for their relationship with the higher education IT organization. In the following column, EDUCAUSE talks with Robert J. Hansen, Chief Executive Officer of the University Professional & Continuing Education Association (UPCEA).
U.S. News & World Report
Business Administration Information
Two-thirds of adults who re-enroll in college after a year or more of being away never end up graduating, according to a study released on October 7.
Using data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, the study was created by the combined efforts of the University Professional and Continuing Education Assocation, the American Council on Education, NASPA: Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education and InsideTrack, a provider of student coaching.
Inside Higher Ed