Construct Education is becoming OES. New name, same team, and same commitment to online learning excellence.
Construct Education is becoming OES. New name, same team, and same commitment to online learning excellence.
There’s a moment at every good conference where something just clicks. For me at the 2025 UPCEA Conference, this insight happened early on: during the opening keynote, in fact. Kim Lear, a generational researcher and storyteller with a flair for surprising you, took the stage and began what I initially thought was an unexpected detour. She walked us through the defining characteristics of Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, Millennials, and Gen Zs. At first, I found myself wondering: Where is this going?
But then she brought it all together, illustrating how these generations, with all their quirks and strengths, collide and co-exist within the university environment. Picture it: Gen Z students were raised online first and were taught by Gen X or Boomer professors who built their careers on in-person instruction. Administrators are somewhere in the middle, trying to balance tradition with innovation.
That melting pot isn’t just generational; it’s institutional. And navigating that dynamic conscientiously and purposefully is going to be the key to driving real transformation in higher education.
It was that opening talk that kept echoing in my head as the conference unfolded. Because it wasn’t just a neat idea—it explained what I was seeing at our Construct Education booth: a clear, growing desire to collaborate, to learn, to evolve.
At some conferences, people pass by your stand and don’t even make eye contact. Ensconced in their professional or ideological bubble, they grab your swag and keep walking. But not at UPCEA 2025. People stopped. They asked questions. They wanted insights into what we do, how we do it, and how it might help their institutions meet the needs of learners they know they’re not fully reaching yet.
One woman in particular—Sandra from the University of Oregon—stuck with me. She had a notepad and pen in hand and was on a mission. Booth by booth, she was asking: “What do you do? How does it work?” Not because she was shopping for a vendor. Because she wanted to understand. And that curiosity is what gives me hope. Because if people like Sandra head back to their campuses with new ideas and insights, those ripples will start to reach students sooner than we think.
Of course, this shift in tone and curiosity doesn’t mean that all resistance has disappeared. Higher ed is, by nature, proud of its legacy. It moves slowly. Its strength is in rigor, in tradition, and in peer-reviewed progress. But online learning? That’s a disruption. It threatens the long-held notion of the sage on the stage. It challenges the spotlight of the live lecture. And for some, that’s uncomfortable.
But here’s the thing: Change isn’t being driven solely from within; it’s being demanded by students themselves. Gen Z simply won’t show up if the learning experience doesn’t meet them halfway. They’ve grown up online first. They expect flexibility. And not out of laziness but out of necessity and context.
Which brings me to what I think is the biggest, most important theme of all: accessibility. Because ultimately, access is success.
UPCEA definitely got that right this year. There was a noticeable shift in how seriously learner access was being treated—not just as a compliance box to tick but as a mission. And access isn’t just about physical ability, though that matters deeply. It’s about time. Geography. Money. It’s about the young working mom (hi, me) who only has an hour or two a day for coursework but still wants to learn, to grow, to lead.
Online learning is opening doors that brick-and-mortar campuses never could. You shouldn’t need to live near a university or quit your job to pursue an MBA. You shouldn’t have to choose between your paycheck and your education. Platforms like Coursera, online MBAs from public institutions, and work being done by schools like California State University Channel Islands are showing what’s possible when you design with the learner in mind. Their return on investment? Tremendous. Because they’re doing exactly what the future demands: Making high-quality education available to anyone who logs on with the desire to learn.
And I’m especially passionate about the role community colleges play in this. These are the frontlines of accessible education. They’re serving adult learners, under-resourced students, and alternative pathways with incredible heart—often with only one instructional designer for thousands of students. Supporting them and giving them the tools to offer online courses that match the caliber of a four-year university—that’s the work I’m most proud of.
A recent report from UPCEA and The EvoLLLution underscores just how urgent this work has become. The 2025 State of Continuing Education study paints a picture of a sector in flux. Online and professional continuing education units are being tasked with doing more for more audiences, with often less support. Institutions are leaning harder into workforce-aligned programs, industry credentials, and corporate partnerships, recognizing the growing need to meet learners where the labor market is. But there’s tension, too: Micro-credentials and certificate offerings are on the decline, and persistent challenges like staffing shortages, tech integration gaps, and administrative burdens are slowing progress.
What stood out most to me was this paradox: Online and PCE [Professional and Continuous Education] units are increasingly seen as hubs of innovation, yet still struggle for full academic parity within their institutions. It’s clear we’re at a moment of recalibration—one where collaboration, agility, and support will define who’s ready to meet this next chapter of education head-on.
The truth is that education is still one of the most powerful vehicles for change. But only if we make it work for more people.
UPCEA reminded me that there are institutions ready to change, even if they don’t quite know how, or they need help with the “how.” Some are looking for best practices. Some are looking for capacity. Some are just starting the conversation. But across the board, the energy was unmistakable.
Kim Lear’s keynote closed with the idea that understanding generational traits can make us better collaborators, better communicators, better educators. I’d add: It can also make us better at building the kind of inclusive, accessible education systems our future needs.
And if what I saw at UPCEA is any indication, then the future is closer than we think.
