UPCEA Updates

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

Stopped-out students are confident in their academic skills — but financial concerns remain (Higher Ed Dive)

By UPCEA | October 16, 2024

“Facing the rapidly approaching demographic cliff — an expected dropoff in high school graduates starting around 2025 — many colleges are pivoting to reengaging students who attended college but left before earning a credential. Officials see significant enrollment potential among this group, as the nationwide pool of stopped-out students is large and growing. By July 2022,…

New Study Reveals Keys to Re-Engaging the 41.9 Million Americans with Some College, but No Credential

By UPCEA | October 15, 2024

Students’ Perception of the Value of a Degree Drops 50% After Stopping Out WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 15, 2024) — StraighterLine, the leading provider of flexible, affordable post-secondary online courses and industry credentials, and UPCEA (the online and professional education association) released findings from a new study examining the motivations, challenges, and readiness of individuals with…

Collaborating for the Future: Employer Partnerships and Credential Innovation

By UPCEA | October 1, 2024

UPCEA members are often the advocates and aggregators for credential innovation on their campuses, as those flexible learning opportunities are often noncredit or certificate-centric, and usually online, avenues pioneered by our online and professional community. To help institutions better advocate for the resources needed for a successful, holistic micro-credentialing strategy, UPCEA engaged in a grant-funded…

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…

Other Blogs and News:

From Silos to Systems: A Practical Guide to Cross-Campus Partnerships for Adult Learners

Adult learners have gradually become one of the most important populations in higher education. Roughly 3.9 million students over the age of 25 were enrolled in undergraduate programs in fall 2023, and adult learners now make up at least 40% of total higher ed revenue. Yet many institutions still serve them with structures built for…

UPCEA’s 2026 Online Education Benchmarking Report Shows Digital Learning at Consequential Point

Third annual study indicates institutions are centralizing governance, strengthening enterprise-level capacity, and addressing financial issues as online learning becomes part of core academic infrastructure  WASHINGTON, D.C., ISSUED AUGUST 17, 2026…UPCEA, the online and professional education association, today announced the release of its 2026 “Benchmarking Online Enterprises: Insights into Structures, Strategies, and Financial Models in Higher…

Tighter Budgets, Bigger Opportunity: How Intrapreneurship Positions Online and Professional Continuing Education Units to Lead

Higher education is facing significant financial pressure. Revenue is growing more slowly than costs across the sector. State funding is contracting. The demographic cliff has arrived. The institutions feeling this most acutely are being asked to do something that sounds simple but is not: spend less and generate more at the same time. For a…

The Future of Professional Learning Starts with Us

In 1915, UPCEA’s founders built this association on a simple idea: carrying knowledge to the people. That founding purpose never had an expiration date, and it does not have one now. It is why, more than a century later, the question in front of us was never whether professional learning needs to change. It is…

UPCEA Launches Digital Learning Academy to Advance Professional Learning for Higher Education Leaders

New professional learning ecosystem offers flexible pathways for career growth, practical skill development, and leadership advancement WASHINGTON, D.C. — August 4, 2026 — UPCEA, the online and professional education association, today announced the launch of the UPCEA Digital Learning Academy, a comprehensive professional learning ecosystem designed to help higher education professionals build knowledge, develop practical…

Leading Digital Learning Enterprises | Part 1: From Advocacy to Integration: Building a Digital Learning Enterprise

The recently released UPCEA Hallmarks of Excellence in Digital Learning Enterprises reflect the continued evolution of digital learning from an emerging modality to a mission-critical component of institutional strategy. This series explores each Hallmark, why it matters for today’s institutions, and how institutional leaders can begin using the accompanying benchmarks to assess progress and guide…