UPCEA Updates

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

UPCEA Announces 2020 Association Award Recipients

February 10, 2020

10 Individuals and 6 Programs Receive Association’s Highest Honors WASHINGTON, February 10, 2020 – UPCEA, the leader in professional, continuing, and online education, has announced the recipients of the 2020 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…

UPCEA Outstanding Service in Postsecondary Instructional Design Award Recipient Announced

February 5, 2020

Inaugural award bestowed at 2020 Summit for Online Leadership and Administration WASHINGTON, February 5, 2020 – UPCEA, the leader in professional, continuing, and online education, has announced the 2020 Outstanding Service in Postsecondary Instructional Design Award recipient, Penny Ralston-Berg of the Pennsylvania State University. The Outstanding Service in Postsecondary Instructional Design Award recognizes outstanding service…

Call for Talent: UPCEA Online Professional Development

January 30, 2020

UPCEA is seeking talented collaborators for its new online Professional Development initiative, which will feature certificate programs in the field of professional, continuing, and online education. This is an opportunity to play a pioneering role in the launch of this exciting effort. Specifically, UPCEA is sourcing talent to join our learning community in the following…

In Memoriam: Bruce Davis and Von Pittman

January 16, 2020

Bruce Davis (1954-2019) died in December 2019. Dr. Davis served as Vice Provost and Dean of Online & Continuing Education at Weber State University. He worked at Weber State for nearly 30 years, starting in 1990 as director for the center for business and economic development at the John B. Goddard School of Business and…

UPCEA Congratulates Members Recognized in the 2020 U.S. News & World Report Ranking of Best Online Bachelor’s Programs

January 16, 2020

All Top 10-ranked institutions are members of UPCEA WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 16, 2020) — UPCEA, the association for college and university leaders in professional, continuing, and online education, is pleased to congratulate the many UPCEA members recognized in the 2020 U.S. News & World Report Best Online Programs rankings. U.S. News rankings include more than…

Where Competency-Based Education is Headed in 2020 and Beyond

January 10, 2020

By SmartBrief Editors This post is produced in partnership with UPCEA. Barbara Kopp Miller is at the forefront of competency-based approaches to education. As the Dean of University College in Toledo, Ohio, she leads one of the most progressive CBE programs in the nation. She sat down with UPCEA to share her thoughts on the…

Insight from a Dean: Never Stop Learning

December 13, 2019

By SmartBrief Editors This post is produced in partnership with UPCEA. Professional learning should never stop — even when leaders reach pinnacles of success. Dr. Jenni Murphy is the Dean of the College of Continuing Education at Sacramento State and has won many awards in her field. She shares some insight from her own professional…

2019-20 UPCEA Benchmarking Research Agenda Announced

November 19, 2019

How do your programs, staffing and salaries stack up in the dynamic world of professional, continuing and online education? What marketing tactics are your peers using to get enrollments and fill their classes? Do you need solid benchmarking and stats to share with your campus leadership? UPCEA has exciting news—our Chief Research Officer and Center…

Other Blogs and News:

COLO Compass | Who Leads Next? Building the Pipeline of Online Leaders

COLO Compass: Evidence and practical direction for chief online learning officers. Throughout National Distance Learning Week, I’ve written about how much online learning leaders are now expected to handle: AI governance, the financial case for online education, relationships with policymakers, financial aid fraud, and operations that extend well beyond their own units. The question for…

COLO Compass | The COLO’s Job Got Bigger. Has the Authority Kept Up?

COLO Compass: Evidence and practical direction for chief online learning officers. When UPCEA published its 2016 Hallmarks, online education was still moving from innovation to mainstream adoption, and a central challenge was legitimizing it. The 2026 Hallmarks of Excellence in Digital Learning Enterprises begin from a different premise. As Vickie Cook, a contributing editor of…

COLO Compass | Sustaining Online Learning Takes Evidence Inside and Out

COLO Compass: Evidence and practical direction for chief online learning officers. National Distance Learning Week runs November 2 through 6, and one of USDLA’s themes this year is the “Sustainable Future of Distance Education.” For those responsible for online enterprises, sustainability means having the financial resources, operational capacity, and institutional support to continue serving learners. …

COLO Compass | The COLO as Institutional Integrator: When Online Learning Is Everyone’s Business, Who Leads It?

COLO Compass: Evidence and practical direction for chief online learning officers. For years, one of the challenges facing online learning leaders was convincing the institution that online education belonged in the mainstream of academic life. That argument is increasingly behind us. Online learning now intersects with enrollment strategy, academic planning, technology, student support, workforce development,…

COLO Compass | Advancing AI Starts With How Your Institution Decides

COLO Compass: Evidence and practical direction for chief online learning officers. National Distance Learning Week runs November 2 through 6 this year. USDLA’s 2026 theme includes advancing AI, global education through open educational resources, and the sustainable future of distance education. For those of us in online and digital learning, the past three years have…

ED Issues Workforce Pell FAQs; Courts Continue Changing Professional Degree List | Policy Matters (October 2026)

Major Updates U.S. Department of Education Provides Workforce Pell Grant FAQs The U.S. Department of Education has released FAQs on Workforce Pell Grants for short-term programs. The guidance covers items like the baseline eligibility standards: programs be at least 8 but fewer than 15 weeks or 150 to 599 clock hours and operational for a…