2U+edX – One Year Later

By Judy J. Beasley Last updated Jan 19, 2023

When 2U and edX became a single company By the end of 2021, we were aligned on our mission to unlock human potential through the power of education for everyone, everywhere. A year later, we are even more determined to drive fundamental change with this vision for the future. By uniting the quality, services and infrastructure of 2U with the access, reach, breadth and depth of edX, we have unlocked the secret to creating exponential impact for learners, our partners and the world. .

We came together because we saw around the corner, anticipating that today’s learners want more choice and control over what, where, when and how they learn. Over the past year, our complementary strengths and advancements have ably positioned us not only to give learners what they want, but also to ensure they achieve their goals and thrive.

We are now meeting the needs of more learners than ever before and giving our partners increased flexibility in how to leverage our support and be resilient to the challenges ahead. We also have greater means to help reduce the cost of education so that affordable, high-quality learning becomes a basic human right for everyone, regardless of your background or stage of life.

Here are 10 ways 2U and edX have evolved and innovated together, setting us on a path to make an even bigger impact in the years to come:

1. We have fully transitioned to a platform society.

In today’s world, platforms like Spotify and Airbnb have reshaped industries to provide consumers and providers with more flexibility, transparency, and value. Learners and educators are now demanding the same. In 2022, we transformed our business to operate as a single company centered on the edX platform at edX.org. This critical shift encompasses a unified business strategy, a new partnership model that builds on our shared mission, and a streamlined organizational structure so we can continue to deliver strong results at scale.

2. We have expanded our global learning universe.

Since we came together a year ago, we’ve welcomed over five million new learners worldwide to the edX platform, bringing the total to over 46 million. edX learners are career boosters who aim to improve their lives. They are in all 50 states of New York to Florida to Washingtonin 247 countries of Kenya to Turkey to Indiaand on the seven continents.

3. We offer an unrivaled portfolio from short to long and free to degree.

4. We continue to invest in more accessible and affordable programs.

5. We forge stronger learning paths to success.

6. We meet the unique needs of partners by giving them more flexible choices.

By adopting edX’s flexible approach to degree support, we’ve evolved our revenue share model to give universities more choice in how they leverage our technology and services to bring more online. high quality degree programs. Complementing our full service model, our new multi-level approach adds to the ways institutions can work with us to maximize their reach and impact.

7. We have established more scholarships, grants and access partnerships.

We continue to prioritize access and affordability by building on our pre-existing scholarships and grants and launching new ones. Two of our initiatives for historically marginalized populations, for example, include the $1 million program Macquarie Group Economic Recovery Scholarship and our regional base Access to partnerships, which provide learners with affordable pathways to job-relevant skills and life-changing careers. Coming together, we also announced our $1M grant to create courses that teach essential human skills in the digital age.

8. We’re helping more employers find, train and retain top talent.

Through edX for businesswe enable nearly 1,000 employers, Competent to postmates—to improve skills and retain their employees through high-quality online learning experiences. And through our Career Engagement Network (CEN), we help a network of more than 1,000 employers expand and diversify their talent pools with a consistent, direct and trusted source to find qualified candidates who match their skills and hiring needs. In 2022, learners were referred to employers over 40,000 times for vacancies through our CEN.

9. We launched two new edX University Councils.

Alongside our Business Advisory Boardtwo groups of esteemed university leaders were created to guide us in our mission and help us understand and respond to the perspectives of our academic and business partners. Our University Leadership Council brings together presidents, provosts and chancellors from our global partner network, while our University Partner Advisory Council includes university leaders responsible for their institution’s digital transformation and online education strategy. .

10. We have preserved and advanced the edX mission.

Our commitment to preserve and advance the edX mission endures. This includes protecting the intellectual property rights of faculties and universities for the courses provided, guaranteeing the confidentiality of individual learner data, contributing to the development of Open edX belonging to the non-profit organization led by the MIT and Harvard, and the guarantee of the continuation of free versions of online courses on the edX platform.

A commitment to affordable, high-quality education for all

One year after coming together, we are more eager and ready than ever to help solve some of society’s greatest challenges through the promise of education for all. Our successes over the past year demonstrate how much we can be a force for systemic change, so that learners and our partners can overcome the pressures ahead and thrive.

We will achieve this future by continuing to offer industry-leading technology services and end-to-end learner support while growing our content portfolio in exciting and relevant ways. We will also continue to match learners with the right learning in the right format at the right time, and continue to expand and enrich our partnerships with the world’s top institutions and brands. Through it all, we will remain firmly committed to keeping universal access to affordable, high-quality education at the heart of everything we do.

One year later and so many more years of limitless opportunities together to come. Ahead!

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