The Pulse of Higher Ed

Perspectives on Online and Professional Education
from UPCEA’s Research and Consulting Experts

Overdue Urban Solutions: Smarter Houses and Buildings

In reflection of my reading or movie choices, I just now realized that my genre of movies centers around how society must survive in the future.  There is a clear adversary and the inhabitants of the future city have an opportunity for freedom from tyranny.  It’s a struggle for potential utopia or the choice of dystopia whether it be The Hunger Games, Ready Player One, Minority Report, Blade Runner or Back to Future II. Our cities are becoming smarter because they are more technology integrated. Our homes and buildings are becoming smarter, as they being built with more sensors, ways of communication and technology to self-manage. As a result of smarter infrastructures and new technologies, will the citizens be smarter? In review of many of these mentioned movies, I was struck with the question…What role did the college or university play in the future?

Click here to read the whitepaper, Overdue Urban Solutions: Smarter Houses and Buildings. 

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Other UPCEA Updates + Blogs

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UPCEA and MIT Professional Education Convene Senior Online Learning Leaders to Advance Data-Driven Strategy in Higher Education

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Department of Education Issues Final Rule for New Accountability Standards | Policy Matters (July 2026)

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From AI Exploration to Action: Final Insights from UPCEA’s AI Study Groups

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Benchmarking in Higher Education: What to Measure and Why It Changes Decisions

Colleges and universities have never had more data at their fingertips. Still, many higher education leadership teams still make major decisions on incomplete internal reporting or even gut instinct alone. Benchmarking offers a structured alternative. When done well, it gives higher ed leaders a reliable framework for understanding where their institution stands versus peer organizations…

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