Founded in 1915, the University Continuing Education Association (formerly the National University Continuing Education Association) is among the oldest college and university associations in the United States. As the principal US organization for continuing higher education, the Association assists institutions of higher learning and affiliated nonprofit organizations to increase access through a wide array of educational programs and services. UCEA also provides national leadership in support of policies that advance workforce and professional development. Since its inception, the Association has been committed to making higher education available to everyone, as well as to ensure that programs and services address societal needs and economic trends. In addition, UCEA works with counterparts abroad to foster professional exchange and better international understanding of continuing higher education.
    Association Members include both public and private accredited colleges and universities, as well as nonprofit organizations with a commitment to professional education. Member institutions may provide pre- and/or post-baccalaureate level education to degree-seeking students, students seeking professional credentials, and those seeking learning for its own sake.

Serving Institutions, Professionals, and Individuals
    UCEA serves its membership and the public interest in a variety of ways, including:

• Enhancing the ability of higher education institutions to provide high quality, continuing education programs by promoting standards of good practice in continuing higher education;
• Furthering public awareness about continuing higher education's role in human resource development by articulating national policies and initiatives addressing workforce needs and by sponsoring national conferences and seminars on topics such as environmental education, programs for precollegiate youth, the plight of displaced professionals, programs for adults of retirement age, and many more;
• Collecting data on administrative practices, such as management, marketing, and curricula design, issuing regular reports, and through its biennial Lifelong Learning Trends compendium of statistics on the growth of continuing higher education;
• Sharing scholarship through its continuing higher education book series, professional journal Continuing Higher Education Review, and sharing news about colleagues and program trends through its monthly newsletter; and
• Promoting excellence through a program of awards that recognize outstanding continuing higher education leadership, educational programs, student services, college and university administrators and faculty, and continuing education students.