UPCEA Updates

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

UPCEA Announces Exclusive Partnership with the International Distance Education Benchmark Project (IDEBP)

October 29, 2025

Collaboration empowers online education leaders with confidential benchmarking, data-driven insights, and strategic decision-making tools WASHINGTON, D.C., October 29, 2025 — UPCEA, the online and professional education association, has announced an exclusive partnership with the International Distance Education Benchmark Project (IDEBP), a first-of-its-kind initiative designed to help higher education institutions strengthen their digital learning strategies through…

AI Tools Are Driving Prospective Student Decisions, UPCEA and Search Influence Research Shows

October 13, 2025

Half of prospective students use AI tools weekly, and early-adopting institutions stand to gain in enrollment visibility. NEW ORLEANS, La., October 13, 2025 – 50 percent of prospective students now use AI-powered search tools at least weekly, making artificial intelligence a critical first step in discovering and evaluating higher education programs. The 2025 AI Search…

UPCEA Virtual Forum Recap: Expanding Institutional Capacity for Employer Engagement in Credential Innovation

October 6, 2025

September 17, 2025 marked UPCEA’s first-ever Virtual Forum on Employer Engagement and Credential Innovation. The event, curated by Amy Heitzman, Ph.D., UPCEA’s Deputy CEO and Chief Learning Officer, brought together senior leaders in professional, continuing, and online education to examine how institutions can strengthen partnerships with employers and scale credentialing strategies that align with workforce…

UPCEA Publishes “The Future Is Now: Essential Conversations for Building Tomorrow’s University Today” to Guide Higher Education Leaders into a New Era

October 6, 2025

Advocacy piece serves as a guide for institutional leaders to navigate challenging times WASHINGTON, D.C., ISSUED OCTOBER 6, 2025…UPCEA, the online and professional education association, today announces the release of its latest advocacy piece, “The Future Is Now: Essential Conversations for Building Tomorrow’s University Today.”  Designed to raise awareness of critical questions every campus leader…

Honoring the Life and Legacy of Dr. James P. Pappas

September 12, 2025

UPCEA joins colleagues, friends, and the broader higher education community in mourning the passing of Dr. James P. Pappas, who dedicated his career to advancing the reach, relevance, and impact of online, professional and continuing education. Dr. Pappas, a former President of UPCEA, was the 1999 Walton S. Bittner Service Citation Award recipient and 2006…

UPCEA’s 2025 Online Education Benchmarking Report Provides Vital Data for University Leaders

August 12, 2025

Second annual study provides new KPI benchmarks around enrollments, finance, and budget, explores the impact of AI, and provides strategic recommendations for online leaders to thrive in these uncertain times.  WASHINGTON, D.C., ISSUED AUGUST 12, 2025…UPCEA, the online and professional education association, today announced the release of a new research report, “Benchmarking Online Enterprises: Insights…

Synchronizing Pathways: Advancing the National Dialogue on Credentials and Learning Mobility

July 29, 2025

Incubator grant supports critical work to align data practices and learning mobility frameworks to benefit today’s learners WASHINGTON July 31, 2025 – UPCEA, the online and professional education association, has launched a national initiative to advance credential transparency and learner mobility through improved data quality and institutional capacity-building. The project titled, “Synchronizing Pathways: Expanding Institutional…

UPCEA Recognizes 2025 Award Recipients at the Summit for Online Leadership and Administration Conference (SOLAR)

July 17, 2025

Association Award Recipients Highlighted at Event WASHINGTON (July 17, 2025) – UPCEA, the online and professional education association, is pleased to recognize the recipients of this year’s online and distance education awards. Award recipients will be showcased at the Summit for Online Leadership and Administration (SOLAR) Conference, July 22-24 in Portland, Oregon. The annual SOLAR…

Other Blogs and News:

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…

COLO Compass | A More Coordinated Research Cycle for Online Learning Leaders

COLO Compass: Evidence and practical direction for chief online learning officers. Online learning now sits at the center of institutional strategy. The leaders who run it are stretched thin — bigger portfolios, less time, authority that rarely matches responsibility. UPCEA and Quality Matters are coordinating the research schedules of two national studies: UPCEA’s Benchmarking Online…

UPCEA CEO Robert J. Hansen to Retire in 2027; Board to Launch National Search for Successor

Hansen will leave an organization that has nearly quadrupled its annual revenue and become the leading association for online and professional education WASHINGTON, October 21, 2026 – The UPCEA Board of Directors today announced that Dr. Robert J. Hansen, who has led UPCEA, the online and professional education association, for more than 16 years, will…

Leadership Conversations in the Age of AI | An UPCEA Executive Briefing | Leading Human–AI Teams: How Should People and AI Work Together?

Artificial intelligence is becoming part of the everyday work of higher education. From enrollment management and student services to academic administration and continuing and professional education, AI is creating opportunities to rethink how work is accomplished. Much of the discussion has focused on what AI can do. For institutional leaders, however, a more important question…