The Pulse of Higher Ed

Perspectives on Online and Professional Education
from UPCEA’s Research and Consulting Experts

Why Smart Cities Need Liberal Arts Graduates

As a lover of science fiction, I find myself picking movie genres that depict a future society fighting against the tyranny of unfair rulers protecting what they think is a utopian society. Ultimately, the masses win and freedom reigns. What our future society will look like depends on many things. Whether it will be dystopia of Ready Player One with residents escaping to a cyber-world for happiness or to a multi-class and segregated society where each class lacks something significant that another class has of The Hunger Games, we will never know exactly what the true future has in store for society. What we do know is that technology and the values of society will push us into one of many directions, one where we can expect greater automation with significant impacts to higher education. As we experience new technologies and new ways of doing things, the human element cannot be fully replaced. Leadership and creativity will need to be nurtured and developed through experience and education. The liberal arts degree is not a dead degree in our future. It just will look dramatically different.

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Other UPCEA Updates + Blogs

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

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Leading in the Age of AI: Learning from Lincoln

“How would you describe your leadership style?”  This question is a common one for both mid-level and senior-level candidates in the interview process. In the past, many relied on descriptors such as transformative, collaborative, or authentic to explain how they approached people and built teams. But as you think about your next career step, perhaps…

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

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…

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Maximizing Audience Lifetime Value: The Role of Branding, Partnerships, and Alumni Networks in Credential Success

Shifting Student and Employer Priorities Create Opportunities for Higher Education Interest and innovation in workforce-related programming and credentials continue to surge, emerging as one of the fastest growing markets in higher education. Two-thirds of colleges and universities are making significant investments in this area, with more than one-third also embedding professional certifications into their online…

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

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…

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

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…

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