UPCEA Updates

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

Online Education Advocacy Group Launches as Dept. of Ed Proposes Loosening Regulations (EdSurge)

By UPCEA | April 3, 2020

To advocate for and on behalf of effective online teaching and learning practices, four organizations are joining forces to establish the National Council for Online Education. The partnership linking the Online Learning Consortium, Quality Matters, University Professional and Continuing Education Association and WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies has been in the works for about a year,…

UPCEA Welcomes Seven New Board Members

By UPCEA | April 2, 2020

WASHINGTON, April 2, 2020 – UPCEA, the Washington, D.C.-based association for college and university leaders in professional, continuing, and online education, welcomed two new officers and five new directors to serve on the UPCEA Board of Directors during a virtual Board meeting on March 18. “On behalf of the Board Development committee and the entire…

Wellesley College Associate Provost and Founding Director of Strategic Growth Initiatives Nancy Coleman Serve as UPCEA Board President-Elect

By UPCEA | April 2, 2020

WASHINGTON, April 2, 2020 – UPCEA, the Washington, D.C.-based association for university leaders in professional, continuing, and online education, welcomed Dr. Nancy Coleman as the association’s 2020-21 Board President-Elect during a virtual Board of Directors Meeting on March 18. Coleman is Associate Provost and Founding Director of Strategic Growth Initiatives at Wellesley College.  As UPCEA…

University of Washington Continuum College Vice Provost Rovy Branon to Serve as UPCEA Board President

By UPCEA | April 2, 2020

WASHINGTON, April 2, 2020 – UPCEA, the Washington, D.C.-based association for university leaders in professional, continuing, and online education, welcomed Dr. Rovy Branon as the association’s 2020-21 Board President during a virtual Board of Directors meeting on March 18. Branon is vice provost for the University of Washington Continuum College. Branon notes that the timing…

Encourage your students to complete the Census

By UPCEA | April 1, 2020

We are excited to announce that we are partnering with the U.S. Census Bureau to support the 2020 Census. As a partner, we will be working to make sure our community is accurately represented in the upcoming decennial count.    The census counts everyone in the United States. Census results are the basis for congressional…

Leading Digital Learning Organizations Partner to Establish National Council for Online Education

By UPCEA | April 1, 2020

For Immediate Release   OLC, QM, UPCEA, WCET join forces to advance online and digital postsecondary education   WASHINGTON, April 1, 2020 – Four leading organizations in higher education and digital learning today announced a partnership to establish the National Council for Online Education (NCOE), creating a formidable voice for online and digital education within…

Keeping you connected

By UPCEA | March 26, 2020

While you are leading campus responses to the pandemic, our goal is to help you stay connected to the larger PCO community. This community, this professional association, is one of your greatest assets during this challenging time. Now more than ever we are learning from each other. Helping each other solve problems. Supporting each other. …

2020 UPCEA Annual Conference Cancellation

By UPCEA | March 17, 2020

Today we have been forced to cancel the UPCEA Annual Conference originally scheduled for March 18-20, 2020, at the Westin Boston Waterfront Hotel. This year’s conference will not be rescheduled.     As we shared previously, we originally opted to postpone the conference due to conditions stemming from the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Though we had every…

Other Blogs and News:

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…

New Research Highlights a Disconnect Between University Retention Strategies and Adult Learner Priorities

National study from Collegis Education and UPCEA highlights opportunity for institutions to strengthen student persistence through better alignment of strategy, systems, and support WASHINGTON, D.C. and CHICAGO, IL – February 4, 2026 — ​​ As adult learners account for a growing share of higher education enrollment, colleges and universities face increasing pressure to sustain persistence in…

When Institutions Shop Themselves: What We Learn—and Often Miss

As my retirement last year eases into a stage of semi-retirement or what some have labeled as “micro-retirement,” I have had eight months of reflection on my nearly four decades of doing research. After a few months of total abstention, I could no longer keep myself away from the higher education field that I so loved. I slowly eased myself back in by…

Consensus Achieved on New Accountability Metrics at AHEAD Negotiated Rulemaking | Policy Matters (January 2026)

Major Updates Education Department AHEAD Negotiated Rulemaking Wraps Up; Consensus Achieved on New Accountability Metrics The Department of Education’s AHEAD negotiated rulemaking committee has now wrapped its winter work with consensus language on the program accountability portion, following the committee’s earlier consensus on Workforce Pell regulatory text. Now that consensus has been reached, ED is…

UPCEA’s Corporate Member Blog Series #1 | Follow the Budget: 5 Areas Where Higher Ed is Spending (and struggling) in 2026

The higher education landscape is arguably the toughest it has been in a generation, marked by economic instability, demographic decline, and the constant imperative for greater efficiency. The 2026 Landscape of Higher Education Report confirms this volatile reality: beginning in 2026, many institutions will face a sustained decline in traditional-aged undergraduates. Enrollment growth is now…

Workforce Pell Is Here and Data Readiness Is the Real Test for Credential Innovation

The expansion of Pell Grant eligibility to short-term, non-degree programs—commonly known as Workforce Pell—has become a defining moment for credential innovation. In a strategic conversation hosted by UPCEA in December 2025, higher education leaders made one thing clear: access to Workforce Pell is not primarily a policy challenge. It is a data challenge. As institutions…