UPCEA Updates

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

Listen to Derek Bruff’s Intentional Teaching podcast, now sponsored by UPCEA!

By UPCEA | August 31, 2023

UPCEA is excited to announce that we are now sponsoring the Intentional Teaching podcast hosted by Derek Bruff. Derek is an educator, author, and higher ed consultant. He directed the Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching for more than a decade, where he helped faculty and other instructors develop foundational teaching skills and explore new ideas…

UPCEA Receives Grant from Walmart to Accelerate Growth of Credential Innovation in Higher Education

By UPCEA | August 21, 2023

Significant grant will build capacity in higher ed for industry and learning ecosystem WASHINGTON (August 21, 2023) – UPCEA, the online and professional education association, is honored to receive a $395,000 grant from Walmart to accelerate work in the alternative credentials space with a project titled, “Building Capacity, Expanding Pathways: Accelerating the Growth of Credential…

Highlights from The Distance Teaching & Learning (DT&L) conference and Summit for Online Leadership and Administration + Roundtable (SOLA+R)

By UPCEA | August 7, 2023

The Distance Teaching & Learning (DT&L) conference and Summit for Online Leadership and Administration + Roundtable (SOLA+R) held July 25-27, 2023 in Madison, Wisconsin was a great success, with more than 400 onsite attendees and nearly 200 virtual attendees. In case you missed it, we wanted to share some of the highlights from the conference: On…

UPCEA Recognizes the 2023 Distance Teaching & Learning Conference and Summit for Online Leadership and Administration Award Recipients

By UPCEA | July 26, 2023

6 Individuals Receive Honors MADISON, WI (July 26, 2023) – UPCEA, the online and professional education association, is pleased to recognize the recipients of this year’s awards, presented at the Distance Teaching & Learning (DT&L) Conference and Summit for Online Leadership and Administration (SOLA+R).  Award recipients were honored today at the DT&L and SOLA+R conference…

New Research from UPCEA, AACRAO, and Modern Campus Shows Barriers Affecting Effective Collaboration between Academic Registrars and PCE Units

By UPCEA | July 24, 2023

Benchmark Survey Addresses Challenges and Opportunities Faced by Professional and Continuing Education Units and Traditional Academic Programs  Washington, DC (July 24, 2023) – UPCEA, the online and professional education association, the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO), and Modern Campus recently partnered on a survey of their respective undergraduate-serving institutional members in…

The UPCEA Community: Focus on Credentials

By UPCEA | May 24, 2023

Twenty years ago nearly every online leader was familiar with faculty concerns about quality and cannibalization. Those concerns proved ill-founded, of course. Indeed, the online learning revolution continues unabated, driven by a virtuous circle of learning innovation and entrepreneurial approaches to expanding access. This transformative potential is why online learning continues to be a major…

UPCEA Congratulates Senior Fellow Ray Schroeder on his Honorary Doctorate from the University of Illinois Springfield

By UPCEA | May 14, 2023

Schroeder has been a leader in online learning since 1997 Ray Schroeder, UPCEA Senior Fellow and Professor Emeritus and former Associate Vice Chancellor for Online Learning at the University of Illinois Springfield, received an honorary doctorate of humane letters at the UIS commencement on May 13.  Schroeder has been engaged in online learning since 1997…

How Education Leaders Think Generative AI Will Impact Classroom Learning (CB&A)

By UPCEA | May 10, 2023

With the recent launch of ChatGPT, generative artificial intelligence entered the chat (pun intended) in a big way, and commentators immediately expressed concern about plagiarism and other forms of cheating in the classroom. Since those early days, the conversation about how these new generative AI tools will disrupt classroom teaching and learning has broadened. Bigger…

Other Blogs and News:

UPCEA’s Corporate Member Blog Series #2 | Fixing the Machine: How Corporate Partners Can Address COLO Needs in 2026

The current environment for online higher education is defined by what the 2026 Landscape of Higher Education Report calls a decade of “structural change,” making the job of a Chief Online Learning Officer (COLO) complex and intensely stressful. COLOs are not operating in a vacuum; they must manage a landscape of operational complexity. The Benchmarking…

Honoring the Life and Legacy of Dr. Gary W. Matkin

UPCEA joins colleagues, friends, and the broader higher education community in mourning the passing of Dr. Gary W. Matkin, a distinguished leader in online and professional continuing education whose nearly five decades of service shaped institutions, expanded access, and advanced innovation across the globe. Dr. Matkin began his career with the University of California, Berkeley…

Leading Institutional Transformation in the Age of AI

Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping work across society, and higher education institutions are no exception. Traditionally, discussions around AI in the academy have focused on student-facing issues such as academic integrity and personalized learning. Today’s higher education leaders are called to lead institutional transformation shaped by AI.  A new research study from EDUCAUSE conducted in partnership with AIR, NACUBO,…

The Missing Majority: Strategies for Re-engaging Men in Online and Professional Continuing Education

For decades, the narrative in higher education has focused on expanding access. While we have made incredible strides in many areas, a quiet but profound crisis has emerged: the vanishing male student. Across the UPCEA membership, from large public land-grants to private institutions, the data is undeniable. Nationally, women now outnumber men by approximately 60%…

UPCEA Announces 2026 Association Award Recipients

10 Individuals and 6 Programs Receive Association’s Highest Honors WASHINGTON, February 9, 2026 – UPCEA, the online and professional education association, has announced the recipients of the 2026 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 Congratulates Members Recognized in the 2026 U.S. News & World Report Ranking of Best Online Bachelor’s Programs

Nineteen of the twenty-three Top 20 Ranked Institutions are UPCEA Members WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 5, 2026) — UPCEA, the online and professional education association, is pleased to congratulate the many UPCEA members recognized in the 2026 U.S. News & World Report Best Online Programs rankings. U.S. News rankings include nearly 1,850 online programs, covering bachelor’s…