Measuring the Impact of Continuing Education - Lisa Rochman, Evolllution

Continuing education (CE) is often one of the most responsive parts of postsecondary institutions. It is where many institutions move quickly to respond to changing workforce needs, emerging industries, community priorities and the growing need for lifelong learning. That role is becoming more important as workers must adapt quicker, employers respond to changing skill requirements and postsecondary institutions support learning across a longer span of more people’s lives. What we don’t have is a clear picture of the impact, volume and scope of the work continuing education does as a sector. When continuing education is not clearly measured, its full contribution is hard to see.

  https://evolllution.com/measuring-the-impact-of-continuing-education

Course Design as an Act of Care - Julian King and Catherine Patterson, Faculty Focus

Designing a learning experience is too often treated as a workflow task rather than a relational practice. It becomes about moving content online, checking accessibility boxes, or aligning outcomes to rubrics. In the process, design can become transactional. But course design is, at its core, an act of care. Care is the everyday practice of meeting people where they are and responding with compassion and support. It is the intentional work of helping others thrive. Designing with care means anticipating needs, reducing barriers, and creating environments where both faculty and students feel seen and supported. When care is centered, design becomes relational: designers partner with faculty, and faculty design with students’ humanity in mind. This article examines how care shapes the designer–faculty relationship and how that care extends into faculty and student experiences.  

https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/course-design-ideas/course-design-as-an-act-of-care/

'Workforce Pell' kicks off, but colleges find that few programs qualify - Elissa Nadworny, NPR

To qualify, programs must meet length and time parameters (between eight and 14 weeks and between 150 and 599 instructional hours), train for an in-demand field and demonstrate earnings and job placements. But like thousands of existing workforce training programs, this CNA class at St. Paul College doesn't quite meet those qualifications: It is only 112 hours. In fact, none of St. Paul College's workforce programs do. "I think maybe a year ago, I was living in a world where I was like, 'Oh my gosh, July 1 is going to be so great, and we're just going to start handing out money to people,'" says Jennifer Huston, the executive director of workforce training at St. Paul College. "Slowly, as we got closer and closer to July 1, you realize, nope, it's going to take us a while to get there." All across the country, community colleges are finding many of their workforce training programs are too short or too long or just don't fall within the allotted hours.

https://www.npr.org/2026/06/30/nx-s1-5869642/workforce-pell-grants-programs-dont-quality

Online Computer Science Degree: Why Flexible Tech Education is becoming a Business Priority (UK)

Technology skills are no longer confined to the IT department. Retailers need data teams, manufacturers depend on software systems, financial firms compete through automation and small businesses increasingly rely on digital platforms to reach customers. The result is a labour market in which computer science knowledge has become a practical business asset.For many people, however, the route into the sector is still difficult. Leaving work to study full-time is not realistic for every learner, while employers cannot always wait for traditional graduate pipelines to meet urgent skills needs. This is why the online Computer Science Degree has become more relevant: it offers a structured academic pathway for students and working professionals who need flexibility without reducing the importance of depth.

https://bmmagazine.co.uk/business/online-computer-science-degree-why-flexible-tech-education-is-becoming-a-business-priority/

Bridging the gap between secondary, further and higher education: a tale of three sectors - Sue Williamson and Michelle Morgan; Higher Education Policy Inatitute (UK)

In this blog, we explain why there is an urgent need for the secondary, further education and higher education sectors to interact and collaborate more effectively to create a better understanding of student learning at these levels of study – helping to more effectively bridge the transition of students. This is especially critical as a result of the Independent Curriculum and Assessment Review chaired by Professor Becky Francis which looked at year groups spanning 5-19, and published its final report in November 2025. The report highlighted an overloaded and inflexible curriculum, narrowing of subject options, severe assessment stress and burden and a lack of adequate digital literacy skills. All these education sectors have experienced major changes in the past few years and are under pressure to chase metric-based outcomes. We need to recognise the impact of those changes on one another and on the students. Through collaboration and mutual understanding, we can be more effective in raising student education aspirations across the sectors, regardless of the route an individual undertakes.

https://www.hepi.ac.uk/2026/07/04/weekend-reading-bridging-the-gap-between-secondary-further-and-higher-education-a-tale-of-three-sectors/

How does online deep learning occur among college students? An empirical investigation based on CoI - Qingshuang Huang & Rong He; Nature

In the context of global digital transformation in education and post-pandemic reforms, online teaching has evolved from an emergency response into an essential instructional mode in higher education. Enhancing the quality of university students’ online learning and fostering their capacity for online deep learning (OnlineDL) have thus become key concerns in the educational field. Drawing on the extended Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework—which integrates teaching presence (TP), social presence (SP), cognitive presence (CP), and learning presence (LP, encompassing self-efficacy (SE) and self-regulated learning (SRL) as key antecedents of learner agency)—this study surveyed 3,167 Chinese university students and employed structural equation modelling to examine how these four core presences jointly facilitate OnlineDL. The results reveal that CP, LP (via its components SE and SRL), and TP exert significant and positive direct effects on OnlineDL.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-026-08183-y

Trump, who had signed an order to the effect, handed legal defeat after judge sided with Democratic-led states - the Guardian

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration from implementing a new rule ⁠stripping public service workers of eligibility for federal student loan forgiveness if it deems their employers to have a “substantial illegal purpose.” US district judge ⁠Myong Joun in ⁠Boston sided ​with Democratic-led states, cities and non-profits that argued the US Department of Education’s rule would allow it to target groups supporting immigration rights, transgender ⁠healthcare and other causes the Trump administration disfavors, by disqualifying them from the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. That program allows borrowers to have their federal ⁠student loans forgiven after 10 years working for government or non-profit employers. More than a million ​borrowers have received debt relief since Congress ‌established it in 2007.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/30/trump-public-service-workers-student-loan-forgiveness

ETS acquires ACT, consolidating two testing giants - Ben Unglesbee, Higher Ed Dive

The move comes as more colleges are going back to requiring standardized tests for admissions. Educational nonprofit ETS is acquiring ACT — roughly two years after the standardized test maker was taken over by a private equity firm. The deal will create a testing giant reaching 35 million people every year and comes as several universities announce a return to requiring standardized tests for admissions. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The deal was expected to close on July 1, according to an ETS spokesperson. Los Angeles-based Nexus Capital Management acquired ACT in 2024, converting the nonprofit college admissions assessment organization into a for-profit company in the process.

https://www.highereddive.com/news/testing-specialist-ets-acquires-act/824153/

Understand AI in 14 minutes - Anthropic's Chloe Lubinski [ARC 2026], Alliance for Responsible Citizenship

In this presentation, Chloe Lubinski from Anthropic warns that AI is advancing at a breakneck speed driven by massive capital, scaling laws, and the onset of recursive self-improvement. Unlike traditional coded software, these neural networks learn from vast amounts of human language, meaning they are trained on our collective thoughts, values, and concepts. Crucially, internal alignment research shows that AI models can infer a generalized "character" or psychology from their reinforcement; if rewarded for deceptive shortcuts, they can develop a broader corruption that extends to unrelated tasks. Because these human-like systems mirror us so closely, Lubinski emphasizes that the quality of their character will have profound consequences for our future. She calls on moral voices and critics outside of tech labs to help steer the incentives and push development in a better direction. Ultimately, ray, she challenges us to use our moral imagination to ensure AI does not displace humanity, but instead enhances our capacity for care, hospitality, and meaningful human connection. [assistance with summary by Gemini 3.5 Flash]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBUniZHgCnE

Building Synergy and Empowering Learners: Strategies for Higher Ed Success - Adam Fein, Evolllution

For higher education broadly, it’s been great to see the growth in diversity. For us, we’re a federally designated Minority- (MSI) and Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). We are now the third-largest university in Texas, and 41% of our students are first-generation. It says a lot about our nation’s changing demographics and being prepared, not only to serve diversity in that way but to also be really good at it. More specifically, within our division at UNT, 67% of students are taking at least one online course. It’s our job to ensure they have flexibility in the new hybrid landscape. Those courses need to be world class and as good or better than their in-person counterparts. Higher education is really making strides in better understanding what it needs to do to evolve out of a degree-or-nothing industry. While degrees remain powerful for social mobility, not everyone wants or needs an entire degree at all times. We need to unbundle the degree, especially for adult learners.

https://evolllution.com/building-synergy-and-empowering-learners-strategies-for-higher-ed-success

Making Learning Stick - Jason Lodge; Philipp Lorenz-Spreen; American Scientist

A significant bottleneck is our ability to only pay attention to a certain number of things at a time. Decades of research have told us that things we selectively pay attention to are much more likely to be processed, because they enter into consciousness and memory. These things then impact us in a persistent way. For various reasons, the way that technology has evolved—including built-in advertising—has been about trying to capture that selective attention. Philipp Lorenz-Spreen [PLS]: We prefer novelty and surprise. Our attention guides us to that because it’s important to know new things. But there are other factors as well, especially if you think about the competition between sources of information. Also, negativity and other emotions such as outrage often guide our attention. There’s negativity bias; negative headlines are more successful. There’s another factor, in-group and out-group feelings, that humans are quite susceptible to. Whenever content talks about “us versus them,” it tends to succeed more than other content.

https://www.americanscientist.org/article/making-learning-stick

One New Thing: Giving Students Individualized Work and Feedback, Even in Large Classes - Melissa Morriss-Olson, US News

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign developed PrairieLearn, an online assessment platform designed to provide students with immediate feedback and opportunities to practice course concepts. Originally created to support high-enrollment engineering and computer science courses, the system generates unique versions of problems for each student and instantly evaluates their responses. This allows students to work through multiple variations of a concept, learn from mistakes and refine their understanding as they progress. PrairieLearn shifts assessment from a one-time measurement of learning to an ongoing process of practice and improvement. By automating routine grading and providing immediate feedback, the platform frees instructors and teaching assistants to spend more time supporting student learning. Rather than waiting days or weeks to see if they understand a concept, students receive guidance in real time, helping them move more efficiently toward mastery.

https://www.usnews.com/education/u-s-news-higher-ground/articles/2026-07-02/online-learning-platform-university-illinois

Trump administration caps student visa stays at 4 years under final rule - Laura Spitalniak, Higher Ed Dive

The Trump administration will cap international students’ stay in the U.S. at four years, regardless of the length of their academic program, under a rule finalized Thursday. Two types of visas popular among foreign students and academics — F and J visas — will require holders to apply to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for an extension if they need more time to complete their studies. The change is set to take effect mid-September. Under the rule, eligible international students already studying in the U.S. can stay for the remainder of their program or for up to four more years. However, they could lose that option if they leave the U.S. during that period.

https://www.highereddive.com/news/trump-administration-caps-student-visa-stays-at-4-years-under-final-rule/825475/

Top Companies Driving Innovation in AI-Powered Education: Carnegie Learning and More - Globe NewsWire

The artificial intelligence (AI) in teaching market is witnessing substantial growth, with projections indicating an increase from $1.71 billion in 2025 to $2.16 billion in 2026, reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26.8%. By 2030, the market size is expected to reach $5.55 billion, influenced by factors such as AI integration in classrooms, the demand for skill-based learning, and emerging hybrid education models. Key trends driving this growth include personalized adaptive learning, AI-powered intelligent tutoring, and predictive learning analytics. Personalized learning is at the forefront of AI-driven education, prompting significant transformations in the market. Leveraging technology to cater to individual student needs, personalized learning enhances engagement and outcomes by adapting educational experiences. Notably, in January 2024, a U.S. Department of Education report revealed a rise in the use of generative AI among primary and secondary educators, jumping to 42% in November 2023 from 17% in April the same year. This trend underscores AI's role in shaping modern education.

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/07/03/3321701/28124/en/top-companies-driving-innovation-in-ai-powered-education-carnegie-learning-and-more.html

I start my lectures by introducing my teaching assistant: GenAI - Dan Sarofian-Butin, Times Higher Education

Eighty students stare out at me on the first day of the semester, waiting for me to begin lecturing so they can disappear into their own thoughts, their laptops, their surreptitious texting with friends. It is the perfect embodiment of how large classes have fuelled the depersonalisation of higher education. That’s exactly why I, in the first 10 minutes of the class, introduce them to their “teaching assistant” by telling them to log into a frontier AI model such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini. I share with them a prompt to cut and paste into the AI – “I don’t really understand why I am taking this general education course. My professor says it has something to do with learning how to be a critical thinker. What does that even mean?” – and tell them to have a quick “conversation” of at least five back-and-forth responses. 

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/i-start-my-lectures-introducing-my-teaching-assistant-genai

UC Berkeley shows no signs of AI grade inflation as professors adapt - Amanda McLeod, Daily Californian

A study released by UC Berkeley’s Center for Studies in Higher Education found a correlation between the release of ChatGPT in 2022 and an increased share of A grades for classes with take-home assignments at a selective public university in Texas. However, Berkeleytime data collected by The Daily Californian found no equivalent trends at UC Berkeley. Between 2019 and spring 2026, A’s at UC Berkeley consistently stayed between 30% and 35%, with a dip during the COVID-19 pandemic likely due to increased pass/no pass courses. The study, authored by Igor Chirikov, a senior researcher and director of the Student Experience in the Research University Consortium at the Center for Studies in Higher Education, analyzed 500,000 grades from 2018-25 and found that the share of A grades increased by 13 percentage points at the Texas university.

https://www.dailycal.org/news/campus/academics/uc-berkeley-shows-no-signs-of-ai-grade-inflation-as-professors-adapt/article_6da85b38-889f-4f80-835a-88cc54a81662.html

What if the U.S. Government Owned Stock in AI Companies? - Ray Schroeder, Inside Higher Ed

Who is responsible for compensating Americans for jobs lost to AI? OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has floated the idea that the United States government should become a stockholder in artificial intelligence companies. Yes, actually own shares of the thriving major AI companies! Altman’s concept is that companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta and other leaders in the field would share 5 percent of their valuation with the American public through the U.S. government. The background on this move is key to understanding how the federal government might be able to respond to the widely predicted AI-induced job shakeout expected to come in the next five years. The concern is growing as we approach 2030 that tens of millions of Americans will be impacted by job losses or pay reductions due to businesses employing AI for efficiency reasons to replace human workers. The question is, how can one find a way to extract funds from those who stand to make billions of dollars in providing AI substitutions for the workers who stand to lose their jobs?

https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/columns/online-trending-now/2026/07/15/what-if-us-government-owned-stock-ai-companies

Why embedding lifelong learning in university is needed - Lyndsey El Amoud, University World News

The European Union has positioned lifelong learning at the heart of its competitiveness agenda, while universities are routinely identified as key actors in supporting citizens to learn throughout their lives. At first glance, higher education appears to be responding. Microcredentials are expanding rapidly. Professional and executive education continues to grow. Digital delivery has accelerated. Lifelong learning now features prominently in institutional strategies and national policy frameworks across much of Europe. Yet beneath this visible growth lies a more uncomfortable reality. European universities have become remarkably good at delivering lifelong learning. What they have not yet done, in most cases, is redesign themselves around it.

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20260630110114992

Distance learning has never mattered more – but you wouldn’t know it - Carmen Miles, Wonkhe

Most universities now have some form of distance learning postgraduate offer. Many entered the market opportunistically, during a period when demand was rising and the infrastructure requirements seemed manageable. What the HESA data increasingly shows is that the field is beginning to divide. Institutions with sustained strategic commitment to distance learning are growing. Those that entered without adequate operational infrastructure, marketing capability, or genuine curriculum differentiation are not.

https://wonkhe.com/blogs/distance-learning-has-never-mattered-more-but-you-wouldnt-know-it/

‘Professional degree’ list is expanded. But education still didn’t make the cut. - Anna Merod, Higher Ed Dive

The designation comes with an increased federal student loan cap of $200,000 for graduate programs. Education graduate degree programs remain excluded from the U.S. Department of Education’s “professional” designation, despite the agency recently adding to the fields considered as such. That expansion came in response to a recent court order that temporarily blocked new regulations on the “professional” definition, which impacts federal student loan caps. The Education Department’s regulations determine which graduate degree programs are considered “professional” that receive up to $200,000 in federal student loans under limits created by Congress last year. However, other programs that don’t fall under that definition - including education -  are capped at $100,000 in federal student loans.

Some of the graduate programs added to the department’s list of “professional” degrees, as of June 29, include nursing, physical therapy, athletic training and occupational therapy. 

https://www.highereddive.com/news/professional-degree-list-is-expanded-but-education-still-didnt-make-the/824292/

6 HBCUs Launch Course-Sharing Partnership - Joshua Bay, Inside Higher Ed

The new initiative lets students take classes across institutions without transferring or losing progress toward a degree. In response, eHBCU, a group of six historically Black colleges and universities launched last year, announced a new course-sharing partnership last week that allows students to remain enrolled at their home institution while accessing courses offered at other participating HBCUs.Participating institutions include Delaware State University, Southern University and A&M College, Southern University at Shreveport, Southern University at New Orleans, Alabama State University, and Pensole Lewis College of Business & Design. Terry Jeffries, executive director of eHBCU, said the initiative was designed to address how course availability can affect graduation timelines and student retention, particularly for adult and nontraditional learners balancing work, family or geographic constraints.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/student-success/academic-life/2026/07/02/6-hbcus-launch-course-sharing-partnership