UPCEA Updates

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

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

December 4, 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,…

Reflecting on the 2025 UPCEA CCI Convening: Designing Intentional, Learner-Centric Pathways

November 24, 2025

At the inaugural UPCEA Council for Credential Innovation (CCI) Convening, leaders from across UPCEA member institutions came together to explore what it means to build truly learner-centric, intentional credential ecosystems—ones that align with institutional mission, ensure financial sustainability, and elevate the student experience. Hosted as the first in-person gathering of CCI representatives, the event served…

Constructing the Future: Why Credential Innovation Needs Bold Leadership

November 21, 2025

The tagline for Convergence, Credential Innovation in Higher Education, raises two important questions: First, what kind of credentials are we talking about?  Is the scope of credentials unlimited, blue sky, or confined to incremental changes on the margins of the status quo?  And second, who is leading that innovation, and what do they need to…

Learning Mobility in Action: Removing Barriers and Recognizing the Whole Learner

November 17, 2025

Learning Mobility: A Movement Taking Shape At this year’s AACRAO Technology & Transfer: A Learning Mobility Summit, higher education leaders from UPCEA member institutions gathered to explore a question at the heart of the learner mobility movement: How can postsecondary institutions recognize, record, and reward all learning—wherever and however it occurs? Moderating this conversation alongside…

Convergence in Action: Building Strategic Credential Frameworks Through Collaboration

November 10, 2025

At Convergence 2025, a conversation unfolded that perfectly captured the spirit of the event—collaboration across boundaries, disciplines, and traditions to create something more unified and learner-centered. In Convergence in Action: Strategic Credential Framework Collaborations Across Campus, I had the pleasure of moderating a panel featuring Elizabeth Kerr and Molly McDermott-Fallon of the University of Cincinnati…

Friday Focus: Nurture Your Career and Yourself

November 7, 2025

In celebration of National Distance Learning Week, UPCEA is highlighting key resources each day that showcase how online and professional education leaders continue to drive innovation, resilience, and transformation. It’s Friday—a perfect moment to pause, take a breath, and focus on you. Your career, your growth, and your well-being all deserve attention. UPCEA offers ways…

Future-Forward: Trends and Strategic Directions in Online and Professional Education

November 6, 2025

In celebration of National Distance Learning Week, UPCEA is highlighting key resources each day that showcase how online and professional education leaders continue to drive innovation, resilience, and transformation. Higher education is standing at the edge of rapid transformation, where the choices made today will define the universities of tomorrow. From shifting learner demographics and…

Online Leaders Have a Community — and It’s UPCEA

November 5, 2025

In celebration of National Distance Learning Week, UPCEA is highlighting key resources each day that showcase how online and professional education leaders continue to drive innovation, resilience, and transformation. Behind every successful online learning initiative is a strong community of leaders who share ideas, solve challenges, and push the field forward together. At UPCEA, that…

Other Blogs and News:

COLO Compass | States Need to Know What Online Learning Costs Before Deciding What It’s Worth

COLO Compass: Evidence and practical direction for chief online learning officers. Georgia put a question on the table that every state should be asking: What does online education actually cost? Earlier this year, Georgia’s state Senate proposed paying public colleges roughly 91 cents for every dollar of online instruction relative to campus instruction, meaning online…

How Institutions Build Strong Noncredit and Professional Education Portfolios

Noncredit and professional education has moved from the margins of the institution to the center of enrollment and workforce strategy. As traditional pipelines tighten and adult learners look for faster, skills-focused options, colleges and universities are rethinking what they offer beyond the degree. Yet a scattered collection of one-off courses often do not deliver lasting…

When Leadership Leaves a Mark: Moving Forward After a Difficult Institutional Experience

Leadership is not defined only by the circumstances we encounter, but also by how we learn from them and determine what comes next.  Higher education leaders often accept positions because they believe in an institution’s mission and see opportunities to make a meaningful difference. They bring experience, professional judgment, and a commitment to supporting students,…

UPCEA Announces Indiana State University as 2026 Jim Fong Grant Recipient

WASHINGTON, D.C., November 10, 2026 — UPCEA is pleased to announce that the 2026 Jim Fong Grant for Advancing Online and Professional Education has been awarded to Indiana State University. Indiana State’s project will use a landscape survey and regional data analysis to find where the university is best positioned to build stackable, non-credit-to-credit credential…

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…