UPCEA Publishes 'The Future Is Now' to Guide Higher Education Leaders into a New Era
Advocacy piece serves as a guide for institutional leaders to navigate challenging times
WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, October 6, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- 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 must ask, the guide encourages a conversation about the rapidly evolving role of online and professional education in serving today’s learners.
Specifically, the resource focuses on three pressing realities reshaping higher education:
• It’s a Buyers’ Market: Students are increasingly choosing institutions based on ROI, flexibility, and relevance; institutions can no longer rely on a steady stream of students from traditional sources.
• Business Models Are Evolving: Traditional structures are under pressure, prompting a new way of thinking about enrollment, partnerships, and institutional differentiation.
• Entrepreneurial Leadership Is Key: Institutions must become more adaptive and consider leadership models that embrace flexibility and innovation.
With each reality, key questions are offered, providing an opportunity for thoughtful discussion and creative problem-solving for institutions and their leaders. Additionally, the guide demonstrates occasions for collaboration between traditional academic departments and online and professional continuing education units.
“Our association has a unique responsibility to help guide campus leaders on the potential of online and professional education to help shape the future of higher learning,” said Robert Hansen, CEO of UPCEA. “’The Future Is Now’ is meant to advance a shared vision and inspire transformative and critical dialogues across campuses.”
Dave Cillay, Ph.D., chancellor of the Global Campus at Washington State University, commented, “As a university leader, I know how important it is to anticipate the evolving needs of our students. This resource positions us well for this work. It encourages strategic dialogue that our leadership team must engage in to stay relevant and responsive. UPCEA has long been a valued partner to higher education, helping our industry adapt and innovate. This resource continues that tradition in a way that directly benefits our institution.”
“Smart institutions know that their professional, continuing, and online (PCO) divisions, often overlooked internally, are in this time of enormous change their best source of innovation, entrepreneurship, and new business and delivery models,” added Paul LeBlanc, president emeritus of Southern New Hampshire University. “’The Future is Now: Essential Conversations for Building Tomorrow’s University Today’ offers a template for leveraging the rich resources already in their PCO divisions.”
The UPCEA resource experienced a limited release last week, when it was made available at Convergence: Credential Innovation in Higher Education, an event held in partnership between UPCEA and AACRAO, a non-profit organization that supports higher education professionals, from September 29 through October 1 in Arlington, Virginia.
For more information or to access the full guide, please visit https://upcea.edu/conversations.
ABOUT UPCEA
UPCEA is the online and professional education association. Our members continuously reinvent higher education, positively impacting millions of lives. We proudly lead and support them through cutting-edge research, professional development, networking and mentorship, conferences and seminars, and stakeholder advocacy. Our collaborative, entrepreneurial community brings together decision-makers and influencers in education, industry, research, and policy interested in improving educational access and outcomes. Learn more at https://UPCEA.edu and follow @UPCEA on social media.
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