Get the essential skills and knowledge you need and earn a recognizable credential from the leading association for online and professional continuing education - UPCEA! Bringing you the leading experts with real-world experience in the field, these programs offer high-value, relevant content and actionable takeaways for practitioners at all levels. Engage with peers from across the field in a virtual classroom to strengthen understanding, breadth of knowledge, and skills. A badge will be awarded upon successful completion of each course. See below for courses and events that are now open for registration.
SAVE with UPCEA Institutional Impact Bundle: UPCEA members get 10 course enrollments for $3,500—saving over $1,000. Flexible access - courses may be taken within one full year from purchase date. Courses can be applied toward the PCO Pro Certificate. Learn more.
UPCEA PCO Professional Certificate
Build your expertise and advance your career in Online and Professional Continuing Education with the UPCEA PCO Professional Certificate. Great price!
UPCEA PCO Leader Certificate
Elevate your leadership in higher ed with this transformative program designed to empower you to manage people, data, and ideas with purpose and precision.
UPCEA Course Catalog
Earn essential skills and a recognized credential through UPCEA’s expert-led programs, featuring actionable insights, peer engagement, and high-value content for all levels.
Upcoming Professional Development Courses
UPCEA's online professional development courses can be taken individually and in any order. Courses are primarily asynchronous and online, and include a weekly live virtual classroom meeting hosted in Zoom. Courses count towards the UPCEA Professional, Continuing, and Online Education Professional (PCO Pro) Certificate. Complete five UPCEA courses within two years and earn your UPCEA PCO Professional Certificate! Learn more.
Understanding Adult Learner and Other Constituencies in Online and Professional Education
Faculty Member: Jennifer Kelly, University of Hawaii at Manoa
Who are the constituents and stakeholders that compose the ecosystem of online and professional continuing education? What are the unique characteristics and educational needs of adult learners? How do the characteristics of the student market determine how programs are designed and delivered?
This course examines prospective student markets and how to address their educational needs. This course also examines the roles of employers, communities, and government agencies in creating educational opportunities.
Next Offering: 01/05/2026
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Managing New Enrollments from Prospective Student to Matriculant
Faculty Member: Stephanie Platteter, University of Minnesota
Enrollment management begins when a prospective student inquires and continues to when they are successfully enrolled. It includes all that we do, or should do, as institutions to help prospective students along this journey and to achieve our enrollment goals. This course reviews the steps in the student enrollment journey and analyzes the important activities necessary at each stage including responding to inquiries, admitting new students, staying in touch before the program begins, and onboarding new students to help them anticipate and adjust to their new program. This course will delve into the professional opportunity and responsibility we have to generate new enrollments for our institutions including building the human and technology infrastructure to support the student journey; communication strategies; and the measurement, oversight, and accountability necessary to ensure a seamless and successful process. We will examine enrollment management in both credit-bearing and noncredit programs and across the spectrum of online and continuing professional education strategies, structures, and practices.
Next Offering: 01/05/2026
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Overview of Online and Professional Education
Faculty Member: Ryan Torma, University of Minnesota
What are the various ways universities organize and empower their units for online and professional continuing education? What are some unique features and approaches within these entities, particularly in how they address the educational needs of adult learners? This course provides a broad understanding of the variety of roles and models for online and professional continuing education across the academic landscape -- and the issues and opportunities they face. This course also looks at internal organizational structures, skill sets, and staffing, and discusses professionalism and the role that UPCEA plays in networking and educating those in this domain.
Next Offering: 01/05/2026
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Program Planning and Oversight in Online and Professional Continuing Education
Faculty Member: Melissa Mahan, University of Texas at San Antonio
A solid understanding of the program planning process is essential for PCO professionals, especially those involved in developing, designing, and delivering opportunities for diverse learners.
Program planning depends on the contexts and variables present at an institution. This course provides essential background on the program planning process, valuable information sources to guide crucial elements within it, and perspectives PCO professionals should consider when planning programs.
Next Offering: 02/16/2026
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Markets, Marketing, and Market Research in Online and Professional Continuing Education
Faculty Member: Joshua McCarthy, Johnson and Wales University
How are new and changing markets identified? How are programs - in both content and format - developed to meet the needs of learners? How can data analysis help shape ongoing understanding of markets? This course will explore the processes and operations that convert markets into enrollments.
Next Offering: 02/16/2026
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