UPCEA Updates

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

2020 UPCEA Marketing and Enrollment Award Recipients Announced

By UPCEA | December 7, 2020

20 Recipients Chosen For Special 2020 Awards WASHINGTON, D.C., December 7, 2020 — UPCEA, the leader in professional, continuing, and online education, has announced the recipients of the 2020 Excellence in Enrollment Management Award and the 2020 UPCEA Crisis Management Marketing Award. In light of the challenges facing UPCEA members, who are leading their institutions…

In Memoriam: Keith Bailey

By UPCEA | December 7, 2020

Long-time UPCEA member and colleague Keith Bailey (1970-2020) passed away in early December 2020. Dr. Bailey served as Assistant Provost for Teaching and Learning and Dean of WVU Online at West Virginia University. In this role, he oversaw the day-to-day operations of both WVU Online and the University’s Teaching and Learning Commons. Dr. Bailey previously…

Embedding Industry Certifications into Bachelor’s Degrees: New Framework Now Available

By UPCEA | December 1, 2020

Report Provides Guidance to Universities and Certification Bodies to Explore Certification-Degree Pathways December 1, 2020 – A new framework to support the development and scaling of certification-degree pathways has been published today by Workcred – an affiliate of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) – in partnership with the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU),…

How Blockchain Can Streamline Recordkeeping at Universities (OnlineEducation)

By UPCEA | November 9, 2020

“What we see coming out of the pandemic is that the world is entering an environment for business and industry called the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which is a digitizing work. What that opens up for is that our delivery of documentation will change and will be delivered on the blockchain.” – Ray Schroeder, Senior Fellow…

What Does the Blockchain Mean for University Partnerships? (Helix Education)

By UPCEA | November 8, 2020

COVID has accelerated the evolution and adoption of a lot of new technologies across higher ed. What has the pandemic done to the blockchain movement specifically?  Ray Schroeder, associate vice chancellor of online learning at University of Illinois Springfield, and senior fellow at UPCEA, returns to the Enrollment Growth University show to remark on the acceleration…

UPCEA Announces Online Leadership Roundtable Advisory Council Changes

By UPCEA | October 22, 2020

WASHINGTON, October 22, 2020 — UPCEA, the Washington, D.C.-based association for college and university leaders in professional, continuing, and online education, announced changes this month to its Online Leadership Roundtable Advisory Council.   The Online Leadership Roundtable (OLR) is the body for senior leaders charged with driving online strategy at the unit or campus level.…

People & Programs: New Online Graduate Certificate Programs Create ‘Stackable’ Pathway to University of Texas at Austin Master’s Degree

By UPCEA | October 16, 2020

The Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin has launched a new program allowing learners to pursue career-focused course bundles that can be applied as academic credit toward a graduate degree. Starting with two 100% online graduate certificates — a Mechanical Engineering Controls Certificate and a Petroleum Engineering Data Analytics Certificate —…

Evolving the College Model to Meet Demands

By UPCEA | October 8, 2020

By SmartBrief Editors This post is produced in partnership with UPCEA. As the Associate Vice Provost for Professional and Continuing Studies at the University of Delaware (UD), Dr. George Irvine has spent the last six months transitioning his division’s programs from in-person to wholly online due to the pandemic. He chaired a university-wide committee to…

Other Blogs and News:

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…

UPCEA Announces Hallmarks of Excellence in Digital Learning Enterprises

Framework defines the future of institutional digital strategy WASHINGTON, D.C., ISSUED JULY 29, 2026…UPCEA, the online and professional education association, today announced the release of The Hallmarks of Excellence in Digital Learning Enterprises, a landmark framework positioning higher education at a pivotal moment of transformation. As digital learning has become central to institutional strategy and…

UPCEA and MIT Professional Education Convene Senior Online Learning Leaders to Advance Data-Driven Strategy in Higher Education

Exclusive pre-conference institute highlights the growing role of data fluency in online education leadership Washington, D.C., and Cambridge, Mass., July 28, 2026 — As higher education institutions face mounting pressure to demonstrate outcomes, improve student experience, and compete in an increasingly data-driven environment, a new kind of leadership is emerging: one grounded in analytics, benchmarking,…

Department of Education Issues Final Rule for New Accountability Standards | Policy Matters (July 2026)

Major Updates Department of Education Issues Final Rule for New Accountability Standards On June 29, the U.S. Department of Education issued its final rule establishing the Student Tuition and Transparency System (STATS) and Earnings Accountability framework, a sweeping new standard that applies to nearly all programs and sectors regardless of tax status or credential level.…