UPCEA Updates

Your one-stop shop for the latest Association happenings, plus thoughts from the desk of CEO Bob Hansen.

2024 UPCEA MEMS Award Recipients Announced

By UPCEA | September 27, 2024

40 Recipients Chosen For Three Award Categories WASHINGTON, D.C., September 27, 2024 — UPCEA, the online and professional education association, has announced the recipients of the 2024 Excellence in Enrollment Management Award, the Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusiveness in Marketing, Enrollment, and Student Success Award, and the Excellence in Marketing Award.  All three awards…

How higher-ed is accelerating the growth of credential innovation (eCampus News)

By UPCEA | August 29, 2024

“A new higher-ed playbook aims to accelerate the development and delivery of non-credit, short-term credentials that are effectively directed at the workplace. Building Capacity, Expanding Pathways: Accelerating the Growth of Credential Innovation in Higher Education, from online and professional education association UPCEA and supported by a grant from Walmart, features lessons learned and promising practices…

These 10 schools found their footing creating quality alternative credentials (University Business)

By UPCEA | August 29, 2024

Senior leadership is beginning to view alternative credentials as a fundamental aspect of their enrollment strategy—and accreditors are listening. But costs, opaque data and unfruitful corporate outreach efforts have prevented colleges and universities from implementing the programs at scale, to name a few barriers. Institutions looking to solidify their non-degree micro-credential and digital badge strategy can model solutions from…

The Job – Open Tabs: Noncredit Microcredentials (Work Shift)

By UPCEA | August 22, 2024

“While colleges are increasingly interested in alternative credentials, higher education lacks consistent processes for developing and pricing noncredit, short-term credentials, according to UPCEA. The group’s new playbook for accelerating growth in the space includes case studies on the development of noncredit microcredentials by 10 universities, which represent a wide range of sizes, geographies, and institution types.” Read more.

LER Accelerator and Learn & Work Ecosystem Library Announce Partnership to Develop Comprehensive LER Resource Collection

By UPCEA | August 14, 2024

Innovative new resource hub aims to support the adoption and implementation of Learning and Employment Records (LERs) in postsecondary education WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 14, 2024) – The LER Accelerator, in partnership with the Learn & Work Ecosystem Library, is thrilled to announce the development of a new Special Collection dedicated to supporting the adoption and…

How to Measure the Impact of Your Higher Education Programs

By UPCEA | August 12, 2024

These days, students and prospective students are becoming increasingly critical of higher education programs—especially as the cost of higher learning continues to rise. Understandably, students want to make sure they’re getting their money’s worth before enrolling in (and committing to) a program. In other words, they want to know that the program they’re considering is effective and proven to…

UPCEA Releases Higher Ed Playbook for Accelerating Growth of Credential Innovation

By UPCEA | August 12, 2024

Grant-funded project delivers promising practices to help institutions engage their local business community in the development of noncredit microcredentials WASHINGTON (Aug. 12, 2024) – UPCEA, the online and professional education association, today published a new higher education playbook, supported by a grant from Walmart, and aimed at accelerating the development and delivery of noncredit, short-term…

How to Use Technology to Enhance Leadership and Workforce Development

By UPCEA | August 5, 2024

There’s no denying that the landscape of leadership and workforce development has evolved significantly over the past several years. As time progresses, it becomes apparent that technology has an increasingly present role in enhancing the quality and scope of higher education programs. If your institution is seeking practical ways to improve leadership development and educational…

Other Blogs and News:

The Affordability Opportunity: Why Adult Learners Are Missing Out on Aid and How We Can Fix It

As leaders in online and professional continuing education, we often find ourselves at the intersection of hope and pragmatism. We see the transformative power of a postsecondary credential for an adult balancing career and family. Yet, we also hear a recurring, disheartening refrain from prospective students: “I simply can’t afford it.” There’s a persistent myth…

UPCEA Releases Guidebook on Employer Engagement and Credential Innovation

New resource provides practical frameworks and tools to help institutions strengthen workforce-aligned credential strategies WASHINGTON (June 2, 2026) — UPCEA, the online and professional education association, today released a new guidebook designed to help colleges and universities strengthen employer partnerships and build institutional capacity for workforce-aligned credential innovation. Developed through a multi-year grant-funded initiative, Expanding…

Workforce Pell Final Regulations Released: What Changed from the Proposed Rule | Policy Matters (May 2026)

Major Updates Workforce Pell Final Regulations Released: What Changed from the Proposed Rule The Department of Education has released the final rule on Workforce Pell Grants and the new Pell Grant exclusion for students whose non-Federal grant and scholarship aid meets or exceeds their cost of attendance. The Department reviewed approximately 440 comments but, in…

AI Augments, Never Replaces: What the Hybrid Advising Co-Op Teaches Us About Building an Equitable Future for Student Support

Will artificial intelligence close the student success gap or widen it into a permanent caste system? That is the question higher education leaders should be asking as AI advising tools move from pilot to procurement. The temptation is to treat AI as a cost-savings lever: deploy a chatbot, deflect the tickets, claim a productivity win.…

Workforce Pell and New Federal Accountability Measures Put Data Readiness in the Spotlight, New UPCEA Report Finds

New guidance from UPCEA highlights the growing urgency of data quality, learner mobility, and outcomes reporting for four-year institutions WASHINGTON, D.C., May 14, 2026 — As Workforce Pell and new federal accountability measures reshape expectations for postsecondary outcomes reporting, colleges and universities must rethink how they track, verify, and communicate learner success, according to a…

Spring Strategies: Leading AI-Driven Change in Higher Education

Each spring, campuses quietly rehearse a familiar transition. The cadence shifts. Energy returns. Commencement ceremonies are scheduled, and multiple beautification processes are underway, from reenergized flower beds to window washing and clean walkways.  What was dormant begins to move again. In higher education, this seasonal rhythm offers more than symbolism. It provides a useful leadership lens for…