‘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

College-educated job seekers are facing the music: A degree isn’t always enough - Sasha-Ann Simons, WBEZ

College used to be a reliable path to a professional career. Now, facing an increase in layoffs and a difficult job market, some workers say it’s not enough. In The Loop learns more about why this is happening and what it means for both workers and the economy. GUESTS: Noam Scheiber, New York Times reporter and Sarah Rand, strategic communications consultant

https://www.wbez.org/in-the-loop-with-sasha-ann-simons/2026/01/21/college-educated-job-seekers-are-facing-the-music-a-degree-isnt-always-enough

Digital Technology Learning Among Older Adults: Exploring the effectiveness of Peer-to-Peer and Other Learning Approaches - Curtain University

As digital technologies, from smartphone to digital home assistants, increasingly become embedded in everyday life, older adults are expected to engage with online services, mobile applications, communication platforms, healthcare and support system, and digital government services. During the COVID-19 pandemic, older adults demonstrated increased engagement in online activities, particularly for communication and entertainment purposes. Despite recognising the benefits of internet use, 80% of elderly Australians find it challenging to keep pace with rapid technological change (Australian Communications and Media Authority, 2021). Many ageing individuals continue to experience challenges in adapting to rapidly changing technologies due to various factors such as low digital confidence, technology anxiety, accessibility limitations, trust concerns, and limited access to appropriate learning support. Age-related changes across a variety of domains, including cognitive, emotional, physical, and social functioning, can influence their quality of life and ability to age in their preferred environment (Harris et al, 2022).

https://www.curtin.edu.au/research/hdr-r-projects/digital-technology-learning-among-older-adults-exploring-the-effectiveness-of-peer-to-peer-and-other-learning-approaches/

The effect of brief mindfulness practice on online training effectiveness: the chain mediating role of attention and motivation to learn - Fengli Mu, et al; Nature

The integration of mindfulness practice within online training programs has gained traction due to its potential to enhance learning effectiveness. This study investigates the impact of a 9-min online mindfulness exercise on mitigating distractions during online learning and their influence on training effectiveness. Two empirical studies (n study 1 = 93, n study 2 = 116) were conducted within the context of a large real estate company’s online training program. Two experiments randomly assigned employees to one of the two conditions: experimental condition (9-min mindfulness intervention) or active control condition (mindfulness explanation). Study 1 suggested that participants engaging in a mindfulness intervention achieved higher training effectiveness (measured by a 10-item quiz) compared to a control group. Building on these results, Study 2 explored the mediating roles of attention (tested by the Attention Network Test) and motivation to learn (assessed by a standardized scale). 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-026-08072-4

Students who value AI ethics may regulate their learning more effectively - Emma Thompson, Ed Tech Innovatioin Hub

University students who view artificial intelligence through the lens of ethics and social good may be more effective at planning, monitoring, and evaluating their learning with the technology, according to new research. The study found that students’ perceived autonomy and critical thinking directly predicted self-regulated learning with AI. Their beliefs about responsible AI use and its potential social benefits also helped explain those relationships. A generally positive attitude toward AI did not significantly predict self-regulated learning in the researchers’ statistical model. The finding suggests that enthusiasm for AI tools is not, by itself, enough to help students use them effectively for learning. Published in TechTrends, the study involved 333 art and design students who completed a one-week ChatGPT workshop before answering questions about autonomy, critical thinking, AI ethics, social good, attitudes toward AI, and their learning behaviors.

https://www.edtechinnovationhub.com/news/students-who-value-ai-ethics-may-regulate-their-learning-more-effectively

The seven operating truths of AI-native companies - McKinsey

These are not isolated experiments. Over the past several months, we have met with the tech and business leaders at 15 AI-centric companies—spanning continents, industries, and stages of development, from four-person start-ups to established global platforms—to learn what it takes to make AI capabilities truly deliver. We expected to hear 15 different stories. Instead, this diverse group of businesses, independent of one another, seemed to converge on the same fundamental insights about what it takes to successfully place AI at the center of the organization. That convergence is the story.

https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/business-building/our-insights/the-seven-operating-truths-of-ai-native-companies

The twilight of the chatbots - One Useful Thing, Ethan Mollick

he evidence points to accelerating capability gains as well (though the frontier stays jagged, and AIs remain weak in many places). This is especially obvious when we look at the ability of AIs to do real work. There are a few good assessments that try to measure how much human work AIs can do. Two of the most famous, from METR and the UK’s official government AI Security Institute, estimate the amount of human programmer hours’ worth of effort the AI can do with a single prompt. GDPval compares human experts in many fields to AI performance using professional judges. They are all increasing at a better than exponential rate. Another organization doing similar experiments, Epoch, recently found Opus 4.7, working on its own for 14 hours, was able to build a software package that would take 2-17 weeks of human engineering work (it cost $251 in tokens). Again, AI systems cannot pass every test, nor are they always cheap to run, but they are definitely improving at a very rapid rate. In my own experiments, I found Fable was able to work autonomously for 9 hours to execute on very complex software projects that would have taken a team well over a week to do.

https://www.oneusefulthing.org/p/the-twilight-of-the-chatbots

Why these three-year degree pilots are sparking strong pushback - Alcino Donadel, University Business

Two leading educators associations are speaking out against the growing wave of three-year bachelor’s degrees as two pilots gain approval in Massachusetts. On Sunday, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and American Federation of Teachers (AFT) lambasted accelerated programs for prioritizing speed over academic integrity. “A bachelor’s degree should both prepare students for the workforce and provide them with deep learning, broad intellectual development, and sustained engagement with faculty and peers—not simply the fastest possible route to the labor market,” AAUP President Todd Wolfson and AFT President Randi Weingarten said in a joint statement.

https://universitybusiness.com/why-this-three-year-degree-pilot-is-sparking-strong-pushback/

Online, Professional and Continuing Education Blog by UPCEA listed among the Best 80 Higher Education Blogs!

Thanks to FeedSpot.com for once again listing this blog among the very best blogs on higher education. It is an honor to receive this recognition. We appreciate the affirmation and support. 

Thank you Feedspot!

https://bloggers.feedspot.com/higher_education_blogs/

Trump administration expands list of graduate degrees subject to higher borrowing limits - Annie Nova, CNBC

Many graduate students will be subject to higher federal student loan caps than previously expected, after a court ruling last week. On Monday, the Education Department published the updated and longer list of over 20 professional degrees that will qualify enrolled students to borrow up to $50,000 a year instead of $20,500. Those eligible degrees include registered nursing, physician associates and speech-language pathologists.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/30/student-loan-borrowers-subject-to-higher-borrowing-caps-than-expected.html

Inside a University’s ‘AI Kitchen’ - Jashua Bay, Inside Higher Ed

Every Friday Le helps welcome about 50 participants for nearly four-hour sessions where attendees test new AI tools and explore how they’re used across fields ranging from medicine and marketing to education and real estate. “During one session we had a staff member from [the] Anthropology [Department], and they brought in a lot of new, different perspectives about how AI might be changing the humanities,” Le said. “Coming from a more tech perspective, we may be focusing on more of the technical details and all of the code and specifics, but it’s also really important to think about what the implications are in other fields.” “The fact that AI Kitchen is accessible to everyone, regardless of their background, is one of the most incredible things,” she added.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/student-success/college-experience/2026/06/30/inside-universitys-ai-kitchen

As international enrollment falls, U.S. students face program cuts and higher prices - Jon Marcus, Hechinger Report

Harrison Keller was starting only his second year as president of the University of North Texas last fall when he was abruptly confronted with a big problem. Enrollment was down. And the source of the crisis made it much worse: In the wake of Trump administration moves to deny and revoke visas, deport international students and impose travel bans, 2,800 students from abroad who the university expected to show up had stayed away. Full-tuition-paying international students — especially graduate students, who Keller said bring $20,000 to $25,000 each to his bottom line — are critical to balancing the budget, underwriting services and keeping costs lower for their domestic classmates. The loss of so many of them pushed the university $45 million into the red, Keller said, forcing it to eliminate 71 academic programs.

https://hechingerreport.org/as-international-enrollment-falls-u-s-students-face-program-cuts-and-higher-prices/

Virginia and Ohio join effort to design 3-year bachelor’s degrees - Ben Unglesbee, Higher Ed Dive

Virginia is teaming up with Ohio to design a blueprint for three-year bachelor’s degrees that would require 90 credits for graduation. The partnership comes as more states and institutions mull shorter pathways to college. The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia announced Thursday that it plans to work together with several private and public colleges in the state, Ohio higher education representatives, and a handful of nonprofit groups on an initiative named “Scaling College in 3” led by the organization Jobs for the Future. Institutions involved aim to map out two three-year programs to propose by spring 2028, according to SCHEV.

https://www.highereddive.com/news/virginia-and-ohio-join-effort-to-design-3-year-bachelors-degrees/824033/

Will AI in education succeed? - Brad Olsen and Jobin Thomas, Brookings

In May 1959, the first PLATO (Programmed Logic for Automated Teaching Operations) system was unveiled at the University of Illinois. This means that last month was the 67th anniversary of the birth of Computer-Assisted Instruction (CAI). Such an event merits a look at technology in education today. Many people are currently either for or against generative artificial intelligence (AI) in education—a stark binary that misses the complexity and inevitability of the current technological revolution. The success or failure of using technology for education (EdTech) is only partly about the technology itself. What matters more are the conditions underlying EdTech. EdTech is a tool, not a standalone solution, and without a proper support system in place, it will not succeed.

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/will-ai-in-education-succeed/ 

How Emerging Leaders Can Strengthen Their Strategic Thinking Muscle - Jennifer Flock, McKinsey

As you prepare for the C-suite, strategic thinking is the ability to lift your focus beyond immediate execution and see how your decisions shape the organization’s longer-term direction. You need to develop pattern recognition—the ability to spot themes across functions, markets, and stakeholders—and understand how trade-offs in one area affect performance in another. To be a strategic thinker, you don’t need to have all of the answers. In fact, you need to be comfortable in ambiguity. You need to demonstrate that you are consistently widening your lens, anticipating implications, and shaping decisions with the enterprise in mind. As you move to more senior levels, decisions won’t sit neatly within one function—they ripple across the enterprise. And that requires you, as a leader, to operate with a broader, more integrated perspective. It requires you to think beyond your immediate function or team and consider the enterprise as a whole when making decisions.

https://www.russellreynolds.com/en/insights/your-leadership-journey/sustaining-performance-by-design/how-emerging-leaders-can-strengthen-their-strategic-thinking-muscle

‘RAISE US’ Is a Rare Positive Development in AI Transformation - Ray Schroeder, Inside Higher Ed

Remarkably, in this highly partisan era of American history, there is a newly formed, nonpartisan association with the stated purpose of “partnering with governors, employers and training partners to help the American workforce make a successful transition to an AI economy.” This is the first large-scale, independent entity formed to address the challenge that is top of mind of many of us in higher education and associated fields who are concerned with the anticipated impact of artificial intelligence on the workforce. It is good news!

https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/columns/online-trending-now/2026/07/08/raise-us-rare-positive-development-ai-transformation

The Apprenticeship Wish List - Johanna Alonso, Inside Higher Ed

Apprenticeships are growing. But experts say that without more funding, updated laws and better data, the U.S. is still far from the system they know is possible. The No. 1 thing missing, they say, is money. The most recent House Appropriations Committee bill to fund labor, health and human services, and education proposes $290 million for apprenticeships, up $5 million from 2026. That’s on top of the $145 million to support a pay-for-performance incentive program announced earlier this year. But apprenticeship researchers and advocates say that scaling participation to that one million number is a distant dream without long-term investments in apprenticeship infrastructure and pay for instruction, staff, wages and employer incentives, where applicable.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/tech-innovation/alternative-credentials/2026/06/29/apprenticeship-wish-list

Teaching, AI, and the Human Core of Education : The Future Worth Defending - Armand Doucet

For teachers, their unions, and the policymakers who shape the conditions in which they work, the question is no longer whether AI will shape education, but how that shaping will be governed. The purpose of this report is to take stock of that reality: to identify what has changed, what remains essential, and what education systems must now do differently if AI is to be integrated responsibly, based on needs and governed in the public interest. Its central claim is straightforward. AI is not disrupting the purpose of education. It is disrupting the conditions under which that purpose can be realized. What follows therefore examines what has changed, what has not, and what must now be intentionally rebuilt, protected, and governed.

https://www.ei-ie.org/en/item/32620:teaching-ai-and-the-human-core-of-education-the-future-worth-defending

Judge Tosses ED’s ‘Professional’ Degree Definition, Likely Aiding Student Borrowers - Ryan Quinn, Inside Higher Ed

The ruling says the Education Department violated Congress’s instructions by adding criteria strictly limiting which degrees qualify for higher federal student loan borrowing caps. Afederal judge has tossed out the Education Department’s rule that strictly limited graduate students’ access to higher federal student loan borrowing limits, a victory for universities, health-advocacy groups and others who argued the policy could stop students from earning advanced nursing degrees and pursuing other crucial professions.  The ruling, released late Wednesday night, centers on the definition of “professional” degree in Congress’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act and how the department narrowed that definition when it issued its rule implementing the law. Judge Beryl A. Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia called the department’s approach “misguided." 

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/government/student-aid-policy/2026/06/25/judge-tosses-professional-degree-definition

The symbiotic enterprise - McKinsey

At scale, this transformation gives rise to a new enterprise model: the symbiotic enterprise, in which humans, AI agents, and intelligent robots each contribute according to their respective strengths within flatter organizations and under a new economic model, with technology becoming a primary cost driver. Beyond productivity, the symbiotic enterprise fundamentally changes the economics of growth by enabling organizations to innovate faster, adapt continuously, unlock new revenue opportunities, and scale through software rather than labor. Traditional advantages such as expertise, workforce scale, coordination complexity, and market frictions erode, lowering barriers to entry and enabling customer re-insourcing and AI-native competitors to challenge incumbents. 

https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/quantumblack/our-insights/the-symbiotic-enterprise