UPCEA Updates

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

Report: Who Stops Out of College and Why? (Inside Higher Ed)

December 6, 2021

Students who stop out of college are disproportionately women, low income and working students, according to a new study by the University Professional and Continuing Education Association and StraighterLine, an online education provider. […] Jim Fong, chief research officer and director of the Center for Research and Strategy at UPCEA, said students will be greatly disadvantaged if…

Report: Who Stops Out of College and Why? (Inside Higher Ed)

December 3, 2021

[…] Jim Fong, chief research officer and director of the Center for Research and Strategy at UPCEA, said students will be greatly disadvantaged if colleges fail to anticipate the hurdles that cause them to leave. “Given the pandemic and the evolution of a new economy, one that relies on automation and information, students will be…

What I Wish I Knew at the Time: Negotiating Agreements

December 3, 2021

In the summer of 2021, UPCEA surveyed Institutional Representatives (IRs) and Chief Online Learning Officers (COLOs) in order to understand the issues senior leaders were wrestling with at their institutions. One of the topics found in survey responses had to do with working with service providers and vendors. The Council for Chief Online Learning Officers…

Why Do Students Leave College Before Finishing? New Study Looks at Common Scenarios. (EdSurge)

December 3, 2021

When a student stops out of college before getting a degree, the college should act fast if it wants to get them back. That’s because there’s a correlation between how long a student has been disengaged and the likelihood that they’ll return. “As soon as a student drops out or stops out or disengages, the…

42% of stopped-out young adults cited financial reasons for leaving college, survey finds (Higher Ed Dive)

December 2, 2021

[…] For college administrators, reenrolling students starts with acknowledging that students are stopping out in the first place, said Jim Fong, founding director of UPCEA’s Center for Research and Strategy. “Colleges often don’t want to admit how many students leave school before graduating,” Fong said. “Institutions don’t want to tell the community, ‘Oh, we lost…

2021 UPCEA MEMS Award Recipients Announced

December 2, 2021

11 Recipients Chosen For Three Award Categories WASHINGTON, D.C., December 2, 2021 — UPCEA, the leader in professional, continuing, and online education, has announced the recipients of the 2021 Crisis Management Marketing Award, 2021 Excellence in Enrollment Management Award, and the new Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusiveness in Marketing, Enrollment, and Student Success Award. …

New Research Answers Question Every College Wants to Know: Why Do Students Leave and How Do We Get Them Back?

December 1, 2021

BALTIMORE, MD and WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 1, 2021) – UPCEA (University Professional and Continuing Education Association) and StraighterLine conducted a critical empirical research study profiling the disengaged learner to better understand their situations and motivations in relation to higher education. The study focused on individuals who have college credits but are no longer attending college…

UPCEA Welcomes 13 New Board Members

November 18, 2021

WASHINGTON, November 18, 2021 – UPCEA, the Washington, D.C.-based association for college and university leaders in professional, continuing, and online education, is pleased to announce the election of four new officers and nine new directors to serve on the UPCEA Board of Directors. Elected earlier in November, these individuals will assume their roles at the…

Other Blogs and News:

Leading Digital Learning Enterprises | Part 4: Beyond the Technology: Building a Digital Ecosystem with Purpose

Technology may be the most visible element of a digital learning enterprise. It is also one of the easiest to misunderstand. Institutions invest considerable resources in learning management systems, student information systems, customer relationship management platforms, analytics, communication tools, instructional technologies, cybersecurity, and an expanding array of emerging technologies. Each promises opportunities to improve some…

Trust, but Click: What Prospective Students Are Teaching Us About AI Search in 2026

During arms-control talks in the 1980s Ronald Reagan made “trust, but verify” one of the most quoted phrases of the era. Four decades later, prospective online and continuing education students appear to have quietly borrowed it back and pointed it directly at their search bar. Trust, but click. That is the story of AI Search…

2026 UPCEA MEMS Award Recipients Announced

26 recipients chosen across three award categories WASHINGTON, D.C., September 16, 2026 — UPCEA, the online and professional education association, has announced the recipients of the 2026 Excellence in Enrollment Management Award, the Excellence in Advancing Student Success Award, and the Excellence in Marketing Award. All three awards are sponsored by UPCEA’s Marketing, Enrollment Management,…

New Research: AI Answers Decide Which Schools Prospects Choose as Consideration Sets Continue to Shrink

UPCEA and Search Influence’s 2026 study finds prospective students question AI more, but increasingly use and trust it in their search for programs NEW ORLEANS, La. — September 16, 2026 — Prospective students consider just three or fewer continuing and online education programs before applying, and AI-generated search overviews increasingly shape which ones make that…

Leadership Conversations in the Age of AI | An UPCEA Executive Briefing | From Awareness to Leadership: A Conversation with Ray Schroeder

Artificial intelligence has become part of higher education’s operating environment. New capabilities, applications, and predictions emerge almost daily. Staying informed is important, but awareness alone is not leadership. Leaders must determine what these developments mean for their institutions, their people, and the learners they serve.  Leadership Conversations in the Age of AI begins an ongoing…

Academic Rigor Is a Financial Defense: What Every Institutional Leader Should Take From the Ghost Student Problem

A follow-up from the 2026 SOLAR COLO Convening By Julie Uranis & Tim Lehmann FSA awards more than $120 billion a year to roughly 13 million students. Some of those enrollments are fraudulent. Fraud rings use stolen identities, synthetic identities assembled from real and fabricated information, and sometimes complicit individuals to enroll, obtain aid, and…