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:

The Affordability Opportunity: Why Adult Learners Are Missing Out on Aid and How We Can Fix It

As leaders in online and professional continuing education, we often find ourselves at the intersection of hope and pragmatism. We see the transformative power of a postsecondary credential for an adult balancing career and family. Yet, we also hear a recurring, disheartening refrain from prospective students: “I simply can’t afford it.” There’s a persistent myth…

UPCEA Releases Guidebook on Employer Engagement and Credential Innovation

New resource provides practical frameworks and tools to help institutions strengthen workforce-aligned credential strategies WASHINGTON (June 2, 2026) — UPCEA, the online and professional education association, today released a new guidebook designed to help colleges and universities strengthen employer partnerships and build institutional capacity for workforce-aligned credential innovation. Developed through a multi-year grant-funded initiative, Expanding…

Workforce Pell Final Regulations Released: What Changed from the Proposed Rule | Policy Matters (May 2026)

Major Updates Workforce Pell Final Regulations Released: What Changed from the Proposed Rule The Department of Education has released the final rule on Workforce Pell Grants and the new Pell Grant exclusion for students whose non-Federal grant and scholarship aid meets or exceeds their cost of attendance. The Department reviewed approximately 440 comments but, in…

AI Augments, Never Replaces: What the Hybrid Advising Co-Op Teaches Us About Building an Equitable Future for Student Support

Will artificial intelligence close the student success gap or widen it into a permanent caste system? That is the question higher education leaders should be asking as AI advising tools move from pilot to procurement. The temptation is to treat AI as a cost-savings lever: deploy a chatbot, deflect the tickets, claim a productivity win.…

Workforce Pell and New Federal Accountability Measures Put Data Readiness in the Spotlight, New UPCEA Report Finds

New guidance from UPCEA highlights the growing urgency of data quality, learner mobility, and outcomes reporting for four-year institutions WASHINGTON, D.C., May 14, 2026 — As Workforce Pell and new federal accountability measures reshape expectations for postsecondary outcomes reporting, colleges and universities must rethink how they track, verify, and communicate learner success, according to a…

Spring Strategies: Leading AI-Driven Change in Higher Education

Each spring, campuses quietly rehearse a familiar transition. The cadence shifts. Energy returns. Commencement ceremonies are scheduled, and multiple beautification processes are underway, from reenergized flower beds to window washing and clean walkways.  What was dormant begins to move again. In higher education, this seasonal rhythm offers more than symbolism. It provides a useful leadership lens for…