UPCEA Updates

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

Using Technology to Transform Higher Education

November 11, 2024

The rapid evolution of technology is reshaping industries across the globe, and higher education is no exception. According to a 2023 survey by Inside Higher Ed, 73% of higher education institutions’ chief information officers believe digital transformation is crucial to their success in the next five years. As colleges and universities face a shifting landscape—characterized…

A new direction for the Distance Teaching and Learning Conference

November 7, 2024

Over the last three years, UPCEA engaged in an innovative partnership with the University of Wisconsin–Madison to enable the latter’s Distance Teaching and Learning (DT&L) conference to continue under UPCEA’s leadership. The partnership’s goals included making this valuable event for the distance learning community more sustainable and accessible to online practitioners focused on teaching and…

UPCEA Announces 2025 Association Award Recipients

November 4, 2024

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…

UPCEA Launches Virtual Week to Celebrate Membership and Expand Connections

October 30, 2024

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…

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

October 24, 2024

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…

UPCEA Announces Selection of Peer Learning Leaders to Drive Innovation in Skills-Based Credentialing

October 23, 2024

Six individuals selected for grant-funded work helping advance University-to-Business credential innovation strategies WASHINGTON (October 23, 2024) – UPCEA, the online and professional education association, is thrilled to announce the selection of six individuals to be Peer Learning Leaders for the association’s grant-funded “Expanding Institutional Capacity for Employer Engagement in Credential Innovation” project. The project will…

Half of Higher Ed Institutions Now Use AI for Outcomes Tracking, But Most Lag in Implementing Comprehensive Learner Records

October 22, 2024

Survey conducted by Instructure and UPCEA explores the intersection of AI and credentialing in Higher Education SALT LAKE CITY — October 22, 2024 — Instructure, the leading learning ecosystem and UPCEA, the online and professional education association, announced the results of a survey on whether institutions are leveraging AI to improve learner outcomes and manage…

Best Colleges Ranking – 2025 (WalletHub)

October 16, 2024

Insights from Ray Schroeder, Senior Fellow at UPCEA – The Online and Professional Education Association and Professor Emeritus of Communication – University of Illinois Springfield Are Ivy League and other “name- brand” schools worth the high sticker price? Wise consumers of higher education should begin with the outcome. What career or job is your desired…

Other Blogs and News:

COLO Compass | Who Leads Next? Building the Pipeline of Online Leaders

COLO Compass: Evidence and practical direction for chief online learning officers. Throughout National Distance Learning Week, I’ve written about how much online learning leaders are now expected to handle: AI governance, the financial case for online education, relationships with policymakers, financial aid fraud, and operations that extend well beyond their own units. The question for…

COLO Compass | The COLO’s Job Got Bigger. Has the Authority Kept Up?

COLO Compass: Evidence and practical direction for chief online learning officers. When UPCEA published its 2016 Hallmarks, online education was still moving from innovation to mainstream adoption, and a central challenge was legitimizing it. The 2026 Hallmarks of Excellence in Digital Learning Enterprises begin from a different premise. As Vickie Cook, a contributing editor of…

COLO Compass | Sustaining Online Learning Takes Evidence Inside and Out

COLO Compass: Evidence and practical direction for chief online learning officers. National Distance Learning Week runs November 2 through 6, and one of USDLA’s themes this year is the “Sustainable Future of Distance Education.” For those responsible for online enterprises, sustainability means having the financial resources, operational capacity, and institutional support to continue serving learners. …

COLO Compass | The COLO as Institutional Integrator: When Online Learning Is Everyone’s Business, Who Leads It?

COLO Compass: Evidence and practical direction for chief online learning officers. For years, one of the challenges facing online learning leaders was convincing the institution that online education belonged in the mainstream of academic life. That argument is increasingly behind us. Online learning now intersects with enrollment strategy, academic planning, technology, student support, workforce development,…

COLO Compass | Advancing AI Starts With How Your Institution Decides

COLO Compass: Evidence and practical direction for chief online learning officers. National Distance Learning Week runs November 2 through 6 this year. USDLA’s 2026 theme includes advancing AI, global education through open educational resources, and the sustainable future of distance education. For those of us in online and digital learning, the past three years have…

ED Issues Workforce Pell FAQs; Courts Continue Changing Professional Degree List | Policy Matters (October 2026)

Major Updates U.S. Department of Education Provides Workforce Pell Grant FAQs The U.S. Department of Education has released FAQs on Workforce Pell Grants for short-term programs. The guidance covers items like the baseline eligibility standards: programs be at least 8 but fewer than 15 weeks or 150 to 599 clock hours and operational for a…