UPCEA Updates

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

I waited until I was 30 to go to college. Best decision ever. (The Washington Post)

By UPCEA | June 23, 2016

Technically, being a nontraditional student isn’t all that nontraditional. The National Center for Education Statistics has delineated seven characteristics of nontraditional students, including delayed enrollment, full-time employment and supporting a dependent; NCES posits that 75 percent of all students have at least one of these characteristics. In 2011, 40 percent of American college students were…

A big partnership for higher ed data analytics (eCampus News)

By UPCEA | May 20, 2016

Data management software company TMMData joins UPCEA in a Gold Level Industry Partnership to guide its members’ emerging data analytics and reporting efforts. TMMData, a provider of flexible data management software, recently announced its Gold Level Industry Partnership with UPCEA (the University Professional and Continuing Education Association). Through the collaboration, TMMData will pair its data…

UPCEA and TMMData Partner to Bring Data Analytics and Reporting Best Practices to the Forefront of Higher Education

By admin | May 16, 2016

Media Contact:  Kim Francois 410-581-5928 [email protected] Leading data management software company joins UPCEA in a Gold Level Industry Partnership to guide its members’ emerging data analysis and reporting efforts  STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (May 16, 2016) — TMMData, a top provider of flexible data management software, today announced its Gold Level Industry Partnership with UPCEA (the…

No One Rule Fits All (InsideHigherEd)

By UPCEA | May 3, 2016

The Online Learning Consortium, the University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA) and the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies (WCET) — three organizations that deal primarily with online education — previously commented to say the proposed rules focused too strongly on face-to-face programs. The department, they wrote, had not “sufficiently considered the ramifications for the…

UCLA’s Dean Of Continuing Education And Extension Smutz To Serve As UPCEA President-Elect

By UPCEA | April 9, 2016

SAN DIEGO, CA – UPCEA, the Washington, D.C.-based association for university leaders in professional, continuing, and online education, welcomed Wayne Smutz as the association’s 2016-17 President-Elect during the 101st UPCEA Annual Conference. Smutz is Dean of Continuing Education and Extension at the University of California, Los Angeles. Smutz deeply believes that continuing and online education organizations…

Dive Brief: Coalition advocates for ’21st century’ HEA rewrite (EducationDIVE)

By UPCEA | January 15, 2016

The Online Learning Consortium, the University Professional and Continuing Education Association, and the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies have joined together to release a common set of guiding principles for Congress as it considers reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. Read the full story.

3 critical parts of HEA reauthorization (eCampusNews)

By UPCEA | January 14, 2016

Fairness, innovation, and accountability are the three guiding principles Congress should use as it reviews the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA) in light of hte use of technology and online platforms for learning. The Online Learning Consortium (OLC), the University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA) and the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies…

Morning Education: HEA for the ‘Contemporary Learner’ (Politico)

By UPCEA | January 12, 2016

Three online and higher education organizations offered recommendations to Congress today on the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. The Online Learning Consortium, the University Professional and Continuing Education Association and the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies write that a reauthorization of the law grounded in the traditional classroom will hinder advancements. Read more.

Other Blogs and News:

Workforce Pell Grants: Primer and Update from Negotiated Rulemaking | Policy Matters (December 2025)

Major Updates Workforce Pell Grants for Short-Term Programs: A Primer and Update from Negotiated Rulemaking: Consensus Reached – What’s in the Draft Regulations We’ve developed a blog that provides a primer and overview of the recent negotiated rulemaking work on Workforce Pell Grants for Short-Term Programs, focusing on the first week of sessions held by…

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Workforce Pell Grants for Short-Term Programs: A Primer and Update from Negotiated Rulemaking: Consensus Reached – What’s in the Draft Regulations

What Online and Professional Continuing Higher Education Leaders Should Know In early December, the Department of Education kicked off negotiated rulemaking with the Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-driven Workforce Pell (AHEAD) committee, focusing most of its efforts in the first week on new Workforce Pell regulations and loss of Pell eligibility as…

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The Resilient Local Network: How to Ditch the ‘Best Practice’ Blueprint for Adult Learner Success

The Replication Dilemma Today, higher education leaders face intense pressure: prove the value of credentials, raise attainment rates for adult learners, and do it all on shrinking budgets. We have access to high-leverage frameworks—like integrated student support or the guided pathways model—which identify proven principles for success often derived from successful regional or national initiatives.…

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UPCEA Welcomes New Board and Committee Members for 2026 Terms

WASHINGTON, December 12, 2025 – UPCEA, the online and professional education association, is pleased to announce the election of new officers and new directors to serve on the UPCEA Board of Directors. Elected in November, these individuals will assume their roles at the conclusion of the 2026 UPCEA Annual Conference in New Orleans, La. on…

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UPCEA Releases 2026 Predictions for Higher Education

Report highlights the accelerating transformation of higher education, from AI-driven infrastructure to lifelong learning pathways. WASHINGTON (Dec. 8, 2025) – UPCEA, the online and professional education association, today announced the release of its “Predictions 2026: Insights for Online & Professional Education.” This year’s report brings together expert perspectives from across the association to examine the…

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UPCEA Announces Release of New Secret Shopper Benchmarking Study at UPCEA MEMS 2025

Findings unveiled during the conference’s closing keynote reveal major gaps and opportunities in enrollment responsiveness. WASHINGTON and BOSTON (Dec. 4, 2025) – UPCEA, the online and professional education association, today announced the release of its newest research report, Enrollment Process Review: Secret Shopper Analysis, during the closing session at the 2025 UPCEA Marketing, Enrollment Management,…

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