Press Releases
Preppy and UMSL Create New Pathways Into Allied Health Careers for St. Louis-Area Learners | Higher Ed Dive
Preppy (a StraighterLine company) and the University of Missouri–St. Louis (UMSL) have announced a partnership to provide self-paced online allied health training programs through UMSL's Advanced Workforce Center, covering areas such as medical assisting, surgical technology, sterile processing, and medical billing and coding, aimed at meeting Missouri's growing workforce demands.
UPCEA and MIT Professional Education Jointly Host Advanced Online Learning Leaders Workshop to Promote Data-Driven Strategies in Higher Education
UPCEA and MIT Professional Education announced a collaboration to host the 'Online Learning Data Institute' on the MIT campus on July 28, 2026, aimed at helping Chief Online Learning Officers transform complex data into institutional strategy. This invitation-only event will bring together industry experts to discuss topics such as rankings, benchmarking, and quality assurance.
Heterodox Academy Survey Finds Broad, Cross-Partisan Faculty Support for Viewpoint Diversity | Higher Ed Dive
Heterodox Academy (HxA) released "Faculty Attitudes Toward Diversity in Their Disciplines: A National Survey," based on feedback from 3,563 faculty members at 80 institutions collected in collaboration with NORC from November to December 2025, assessing faculty attitudes toward eight dimensions of diversity. Results show that viewpoint diversity receives broad cross-party support, with methodological and theoretical diversity receiving the highest recognition (84%), but nearly 30% of surveyed faculty reported not regularly engaging with those holding different views, and faculty generally underestimate their peers' support for political and religious diversity.
UPCEA Announces Hallmarks of Excellence in Digital Learning Enterprises | Higher Ed Dive
UPCEA released the Digital Learning Enterprise Excellence framework, emphasizing that digital learning should serve as core institutional infrastructure rather than a supplementary function. The framework was developed with participation from over 80 chief online learning officers and endorsed by organizations including 1EdTech, AACRAO, AAC&U, ACE, and EDUCAUSE, calling on higher education institutions to undertake systematic changes in leadership, governance, operations, finance, regulation, and technology.
Raccoon Gang Achieves ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Certification for Data Security | Higher Ed Dive
Raccoon Gang, an EdTech and eLearning development company, announces that it has passed ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification, which is based on internationally recognized information security management standards, verifying that its processes for protecting client and learner data meet confidentiality, integrity, and availability requirements.
ForteNext Launch Giving Cloud, a Giving and Commerce Storefront for Higher Education on the Salesforce Commerce platform | Higher Ed Dive
ForteNext announced the general availability of Giving Cloud on July 31, 2026. Built on the Salesforce Commerce platform, the solution integrates alumni donations, merchandise sales, and event registration into a single branded experience, going from launch to live in just three weeks. The platform runs natively on Salesforce, requiring no middleware, with built-in PCI, GDPR, and CCPA compliance controls, and supports integration with third-party services such as Avalara, UPS, FedEx, and Stripe.
New National Survey Finds Colleges and Universities Expanding Strategic Partnerships to Address Today's Biggest Challenges | Higher Ed Dive
The 2026 Strategic Partnerships Survey, conducted by The Chronicle of Higher Education and P3•EDU, found that strategic partnerships have become a core strategy for universities to respond to financial, demographic, policy, and technological changes. Based on feedback from 418 higher education leaders, the survey shows that over 71% of institutions report increased collaboration with private enterprises, 52% of respondents indicate that federal policies have changed their near-term revenue expectations, and an additional 9% of institutions are exploring structural collaborations such as mergers or alliances.
UPCEA’s 2026 Online Education Benchmarking Report Shows Digital Learning at Consequential Point | Higher Ed Dive
UPCEA released the 2026 Online Enterprise Benchmark Report on August 17, 2026, showing that digital learning enterprises are undergoing a critical phase of governance centralization, financial expansion, and initial AI integration. The report indicates that 57% of online enterprises report to provosts, with average revenue increasing from $18 million in 2024 to $30.5 million in FY2026, but misalignment remains between financial accountability and authority. The report proposes five strategic recommendations and announces a webinar on August 26.
Terra Dotta Brings Trusted AI to Study Abroad Advising | Higher Ed Dive
Terra Dotta has launched the Study Abroad AI Advisor Agent for universities. This AI assistant, controlled by the institution, offers personalized study abroad consultation to students based on the institution's own program information. According to its 2026 student survey, 73% of U.S. college students plan to study abroad. More than 24 institutions are currently using this tool.
