UPCEA Updates

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

Stopped-out students are confident in their academic skills — but financial concerns remain (Higher Ed Dive)

By UPCEA | October 16, 2024

“Facing the rapidly approaching demographic cliff — an expected dropoff in high school graduates starting around 2025 — many colleges are pivoting to reengaging students who attended college but left before earning a credential. Officials see significant enrollment potential among this group, as the nationwide pool of stopped-out students is large and growing. By July 2022,…

New Study Reveals Keys to Re-Engaging the 41.9 Million Americans with Some College, but No Credential

By UPCEA | October 15, 2024

Students’ Perception of the Value of a Degree Drops 50% After Stopping Out WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 15, 2024) — StraighterLine, the leading provider of flexible, affordable post-secondary online courses and industry credentials, and UPCEA (the online and professional education association) released findings from a new study examining the motivations, challenges, and readiness of individuals with…

Collaborating for the Future: Employer Partnerships and Credential Innovation

By UPCEA | October 1, 2024

UPCEA members are often the advocates and aggregators for credential innovation on their campuses, as those flexible learning opportunities are often noncredit or certificate-centric, and usually online, avenues pioneered by our online and professional community. To help institutions better advocate for the resources needed for a successful, holistic micro-credentialing strategy, UPCEA engaged in a grant-funded…

2024 UPCEA MEMS Award Recipients Announced

By UPCEA | September 27, 2024

40 Recipients Chosen For Three Award Categories WASHINGTON, D.C., September 27, 2024 — UPCEA, the online and professional education association, has announced the recipients of the 2024 Excellence in Enrollment Management Award, the Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusiveness in Marketing, Enrollment, and Student Success Award, and the Excellence in Marketing Award.  All three awards…

How higher-ed is accelerating the growth of credential innovation (eCampus News)

By UPCEA | August 29, 2024

“A new higher-ed playbook aims to accelerate the development and delivery of non-credit, short-term credentials that are effectively directed at the workplace. Building Capacity, Expanding Pathways: Accelerating the Growth of Credential Innovation in Higher Education, from online and professional education association UPCEA and supported by a grant from Walmart, features lessons learned and promising practices…

These 10 schools found their footing creating quality alternative credentials (University Business)

By UPCEA | August 29, 2024

Senior leadership is beginning to view alternative credentials as a fundamental aspect of their enrollment strategy—and accreditors are listening. But costs, opaque data and unfruitful corporate outreach efforts have prevented colleges and universities from implementing the programs at scale, to name a few barriers. Institutions looking to solidify their non-degree micro-credential and digital badge strategy can model solutions from…

The Job – Open Tabs: Noncredit Microcredentials (Work Shift)

By UPCEA | August 22, 2024

“While colleges are increasingly interested in alternative credentials, higher education lacks consistent processes for developing and pricing noncredit, short-term credentials, according to UPCEA. The group’s new playbook for accelerating growth in the space includes case studies on the development of noncredit microcredentials by 10 universities, which represent a wide range of sizes, geographies, and institution types.” Read more.

LER Accelerator and Learn & Work Ecosystem Library Announce Partnership to Develop Comprehensive LER Resource Collection

By UPCEA | August 14, 2024

Innovative new resource hub aims to support the adoption and implementation of Learning and Employment Records (LERs) in postsecondary education WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 14, 2024) – The LER Accelerator, in partnership with the Learn & Work Ecosystem Library, is thrilled to announce the development of a new Special Collection dedicated to supporting the adoption and…

Other Blogs and News:

Federal Grant Opportunities: Funding for Workforce Pell Programs and AI | Policy Matters (November 2025)

Major Updates Federal Grant Opportunities: Funding for Workforce Pell Programs and AI (Applications Due December 3) The Department of Education has launched a rapid grant competition under the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE–Special Projects), with applications due December 3, 2025. The program is designed in part to help institutions build or scale…

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Constructing the Future: Why Credential Innovation Needs Bold Leadership

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…

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

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…

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Convergence in Action: Building Strategic Credential Frameworks Through Collaboration

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…

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Don’t Bring a Brochure to a Robot Fight: Winning Page One and the AI Overview

Imagine your bellwether program stepping into a modern search arena with a glossy tri-fold and a storied reputation, ready to battle any challenger. Across the ring rolls a robotic rival as “The Imperial March” blares over the speakers. The ref signals start; a blinding spotlight from the robot makes your program vanish from view. The…

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Friday Focus: Nurture Your Career and Yourself

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…

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