WASHINGTON, D.C., November 10, 2026 — UPCEA is pleased to announce that the 2026 Jim Fong Grant for Advancing Online and Professional Education has been awarded to Indiana State University. Indiana State’s project will use a landscape survey and regional data analysis to find where the university is best positioned to build stackable, non-credit-to-credit credential pathways with local and regional employers. It will then use that positioning to turn non-credit learning into for-credit enrollment.

“Indiana State University is excited for the opportunity to work with UPCEA to identify key non-credit to credit pathways that will help us further serve our local and regional communities. We are deeply grateful to UPCEA and Jim Fong for making this work possible,” said Sam Nikolai, Associate Provost for Online Education, Indiana State University.

Impact to the Field

Many institutions are trying to connect their non-credit and for-credit offerings, and Indiana State’s project could become a model for them. It will show how regional market intelligence and employer partnerships can shape credential pathways that give learners a clear way to keep going, from short-term workforce training through to degree programs. The findings will help Indiana State match its offerings to regional employer demand and build pathways shaped by real data. They will also show how a university can grow enrollment by recognizing what learners already know and can do. Colleges and universities serving regional economies may be able to use the approach as a blueprint for linking workforce training with academic programs.

UPCEA will conduct its occupational opportunity model (OOM), employer interviews, benchmarking of non-credit to credit pathways, and its occupational mapping analysis (OMA) to give Indiana State University foundational market intelligence and programming recommendations for its stackable credential strategy.

“Indiana State University’s project goes straight to one of the most important questions in our field: how to build real, connected pathways between non-credit and credit learning,” said UPCEA CEO Bob Hansen. “Jim Fong has long championed using data to decide which programs to build and for whom, and he continues to share that perspective with the field today. This project puts his approach into practice, and we look forward to the insights it will offer institutions nationwide.”

Congratulations to Indiana State University!

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About the Jim Fong Grant for Advancing Online and Professional Education 

The Jim Fong Grant for Advancing Online and Professional Education is named for Jim Fong, UPCEA’s first Chief Research Officer and founding director of UPCEA Research & Consulting, who retired from UPCEA in 2025. The grant honors his contributions to data-driven decision-making in online and professional education by providing UPCEA research services to a member institution each year. Learn more at upcea.edu/fong-grant.

About UPCEA

UPCEA is the online and professional education association. Our members continuously reinvent higher education, positively impacting millions of lives. We proudly lead and support them through cutting edge research, professional development, networking and mentorship, conferences and seminars, and stakeholder advocacy. Our collaborative, entrepreneurial community brings together decision makers and influencers in education, industry, research, and policy interested in improving educational access and outcomes. Learn more at upcea.edu.