The Pulse of Higher Ed

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

The Romance of Higher Education

Higher education and romance have a lot in common. Both can be long- or short-term. Short-term relationships may be low risk and could be analogous to earning a badge, watching a training video, or participating in a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). It’s a date with an education provider or a content creator. On the other hand, a long-term relationship, such as marriage or a serious relationship, is typically more complex and requires a little bit of luck. Higher education is a lot like online dating or relationship development depending on the goals of the stakeholders. Dating and relationship development in a modern world is app-driven, using programs such as Tinder, Bumble, Match, etc. How adult learners initially shop for higher education institutions is similar to how users find matches on a dating app! They spend hours researching programs to find their perfect “match” with certain criteria in mind like location, delivery method, institutional brand, and more.

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Other UPCEA Updates + Blogs

UPCEA Announces 2025 Association Award Recipients

8 Individuals and 7 Programs Receive Association’s Highest Honors WASHINGTON, November 4, 2024 – UPCEA, the online and professional education association, has announced the recipients of the 2025 Association Awards. The UPCEA Association Awards program includes recognition of both individual and institutional achievement across the UPCEA membership. Since 1953, UPCEA has recognized its members’ outstanding…

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Department of Education Warns Institutions on Misleading Representations, Urges Compliance | Policy Matters (October 2024)

Major Updates Department of Education Warns Institutions on Misleading Representations, Urges Compliance The US Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid (FSA) recently released an announcement bulletin that highlights activities that could indicate institutions are engaging in substantial misrepresentations—such as misleading claims about program costs, job placement, or licensure—and as such, face serious penalties. The bulletin…

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UPCEA Launches Virtual Week to Celebrate Membership and Expand Connections

Higher Education Institutions Invited to Join the Leading Association in Online and Professional Education Washington, D.C. (October 30, 2024) – UPCEA, the association for online and professional education, proudly announces its upcoming week-long virtual event celebrating the impact of membership and invites higher education institutions to become members. Taking place from Wednesday, November 13 through…

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Beyond Degrees: How Credential Innovation is Closing the Gap for 42 Million Learners

A Movement, Not Just a Community Convergence is emerging as the place where the credential innovation community for higher ed comes together. But more than a community, it’s a movement. Not a movement to make degrees less valuable, let alone obsolete. Rather, it’s a movement to complement degrees by meeting the needs of those for…

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Lessons Learned from Star Trek

I am part of Generation X. I was born in 1965 and which makes me one of the cohort’s older members. Although I am a part of Generation X, I at times align with the “Next Generation” … the Boomers. Growing up around Boomers and being an older Gen X’er meant watching I Dream of…

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New Survey Explores Intersection of AI and Credentialing in Higher Ed

UPCEA and Instructure recently released the results of a survey on whether institutions are utilizing AI to enhance learner outcomes and records, and if so, how? Most survey respondents are heavily involved in developing learner experiences and tracking outcomes, though nearly half report that their institutions have yet to adopt AI-driven tools for these purposes.…

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