Leaders in Online and Professional Continuing Education


Enterprise Leadership Certificate

A leadership development certificate for current and aspiring leaders of online, professional, and continuing education enterprises.

Build the strategic, operational, financial, and leadership skills needed to guide complex education units, lead across institutional boundaries, and drive sustainable growth.

Program Overview

The Enterprise Leadership Certificate is the flagship leadership offering within the UPCEA Digital Learning Academy. The program combines a shared leadership core with a concentration pathway tailored to the learner’s professional context.

Core Leadership Foundation

Build essential capabilities in organizational leadership, diplomacy, data-informed decision-making, and financial strategy.

Concentration Pathway

Choose a COLO or Professional and Continuing Education concentration based on your role, goals, and institutional context.

Flexible Electives

Select electives that align with your responsibilities in enrollment, program design, marketing, partnerships, or credential innovation.

Certificate Structure

To earn the Enterprise Leadership Certificate, participants complete five courses: three core courses, one required concentration course, and one elective.

Certificate Pathway: 3 Core Courses + 1 Required Concentration Course + 1 Elective = Enterprise Leadership Certificate

Upcoming Cohorts

The Enterprise Leadership Certificate is offered twice each year through cohort-based enrollment. Participants move through the three core courses together before completing their concentration requirement and elective.

Winter-Spring Cohort

January Start

Ideal for professionals looking to begin the year with a structured leadership development experience and complete the certificate during the summer.

Register for January Cohort

Summer-Fall Cohort

July Start

Designed for professionals seeking to begin the certificate in the second half of the year and complete the program by late fall or early winter.

Register for July Cohort

Certificate Pathway Timeline

Core Course 1 → Core Course 2 → Core Course 3 → Concentration Course → Elective → Certificate
Flexible Participation: While certificate participants progress through the program as part of a cohort, many Professional Practice courses may also be taken individually and later applied toward certificate requirements.

Core Curriculum

All participants complete the same three core courses. These courses establish the leadership foundation needed across online and professional education enterprises.

Core Course

Organizing and Motivating Online and Continuing Education Enterprises

Explore how leaders build effective teams, align people around shared goals, and organize work across complex education enterprises.

Core Course

Leading with Diplomacy, Data, and Drive

Strengthen your ability to lead through influence, use data to support decisions, and move initiatives forward in complex institutional environments.

Core Course

Financial Planning and Forecasting for Education Enterprises

Build financial acumen through budgeting, forecasting, revenue models, and planning approaches relevant to online and professional education.

Choose Your Concentration

The certificate includes two concentration options. Each concentration is designed for a different leadership context.

Choose COLO If...

You lead or support online education strategy.

The COLO concentration is best for leaders responsible for online portfolios, digital strategy, academic alignment, online program growth, and cross-functional coordination of online learning.

Choose PCE If...

You lead professional, continuing, or workforce education.

The PCE concentration is best for leaders focused on credential innovation, employer engagement, workforce-aligned programming, community partnerships, and nontraditional learner pathways.

Concentration Requirements

Each concentration includes one required concentration course and a set of available electives. Select a course title to view a brief description.

COLO Concentration

Online Enterprise Leadership

Designed for leaders of online education enterprises who are responsible for building, scaling, and sustaining high-performing digital portfolios.

Required COLO Course

Strategy in Action: Planning for Dynamic Academic Environments
Explore strategic planning in rapidly evolving academic environments. Participants learn to align institutional priorities, market opportunities, and organizational capabilities to drive sustainable growth.

Available Electives

Marketing Online and Professional Education Programs
Learn marketing strategies that support recruitment, enrollment growth, and market positioning for online and professional education programs.
Designing and Managing High-Impact Programs
Explore approaches for designing, launching, and managing programs that meet learner, employer, and institutional needs.
Managing the Enrollment Funnel: From Prospect to Matriculant
Examine the learner journey from inquiry through enrollment and identify strategies to improve conversion and student engagement.
Developing Partnerships, Programs, and Pathways for Community Engagement and Opportunity
Learn how to build partnerships and educational pathways that strengthen community engagement and expand learner opportunity.
Credential Innovation: Strategy and Design
Explore the strategic development of innovative credentials that respond to workforce needs, learner demand, and institutional goals.
Credential Innovation: University to Business (U2B) Stakeholder Engagement
Develop strategies for engaging employers and industry partners to inform credential development and workforce-aligned programming.
PCE Concentration

Professional and Continuing Education Leadership

Designed for leaders operating at the intersection of the institution, workforce, and community, with emphasis on market-responsive programs and external partnerships.

Required PCE Course

Credential Innovation: Strategy and Design
Explore the strategic development of innovative credentials that respond to workforce needs, learner demand, and institutional goals.

Available Electives

Managing the Enrollment Funnel: From Prospect to Matriculant
Examine the learner journey from inquiry through enrollment and identify strategies to improve conversion and student engagement.
Credential Innovation: University to Business (U2B) Stakeholder Engagement
Develop strategies for engaging employers and industry partners to inform credential development and workforce-aligned programming.
Developing Partnerships, Programs, and Pathways for Community Engagement and Opportunity
Learn how to build partnerships and educational pathways that strengthen community engagement and expand learner opportunity.
Marketing Online and Professional Education Programs
Learn marketing strategies that support recruitment, enrollment growth, and market positioning for online and professional education programs.
Designing and Managing High-Impact Programs
Explore approaches for designing, launching, and managing programs that meet learner, employer, and institutional needs.
Strategy in Action: Planning for Dynamic Academic Environments
Explore strategic planning in rapidly evolving academic environments. Participants learn to align institutional priorities, market opportunities, and organizational capabilities to drive sustainable growth.

Explore the Concentrations

More About the COLO Concentration

The COLO concentration focuses on the leadership challenges of online education enterprises, including academic strategy, digital portfolio development, enrollment growth, internal alignment, and the need to lead across decentralized institutional environments.

This concentration is a strong fit for Chief Online Learning Officers, online learning leaders, digital strategy leaders, and professionals preparing to lead online education initiatives.

More About the PCE Concentration

The PCE concentration focuses on credential innovation, professional and continuing education strategy, workforce alignment, employer and community partnerships, and program development for working learners.

This concentration is a strong fit for leaders in professional, continuing, workforce, executive, or community-engaged education units.

Can I Take More Than One Elective?

Yes. Participants must complete at least one elective to earn the certificate, but may add additional electives at a discounted rate to deepen expertise in areas aligned to their goals.

Who Should Enroll?

Current Leaders

Leaders responsible for online, professional, continuing, or workforce education strategy and operations.

Aspiring Leaders

Mid-career professionals preparing for broader responsibility in online and professional education enterprises.

Institutional Teams

Units seeking a shared leadership development experience for emerging and current leaders.

Ready to Advance Your Leadership?

The Enterprise Leadership Certificate provides a structured pathway to build the skills needed to lead complex, mission-driven education enterprises.

Register for the January Cohort Register for the July Cohort