ASU EdPlus report highlights global growth, AI learning ventures

TEMPE, Ariz., Sept. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- ASU EdPlus released its fiscal year 2026 "Impact by the Numbers" report, highlighting a year of innovation that expanded the global reach of Arizona State University through record enrollment, global partnerships and new advances in artificial intelligence.

The report demonstrates how ASU EdPlus develops and scales the technologies, partnerships and learning models that enable the university to extend the reach of its faculty, research and academic excellence to learners around the world.

From online degree programs and immersive learning to workforce partnerships and AI-enabled education, the report reflects a model that is expanding access while redefining how a leading public research university serves learners at scale.

This year's report shows that mission translating into measurable growth.

ASU Online enrollment climbed to more than 118,000 students from 185 countries, up from 107,000 students in more than 170 countries the year before. Graduate enrollment rose to more than 30,900 and undergraduate enrollment reached 87,100, while Earned Admission, the university's alternative pathway program, has now welcomed more than 11,000 students.

"You don't get 17 straight years of growth by accident," said Phil Regier, university dean and CEO of ASU EdPlus. "It happens because a parent can finish a degree after the kids are asleep or a soldier can earn credit on deployment. We built this so that higher education could fit a person's life instead of asking them to rearrange their life around it."

The growth wasn't limited to enrollment. Global partnerships deepened as well.

• Dreamscape Learn, the unit's immersive learning platform, grew to 47 experiences spanning biology, geology and business, reaching more than 60,000 unique student experiences since its 2020 launch.
• The e-SHE initiative, which improves higher education in Ethiopia through instructional design and digital literacy training, grew to 3.1 million course enrollments, up from 2 million, while instructor training completions rose to 36,000.
• Baobab, ASU EdPlus's learning community for young African leaders, grew to 94,000 registered members and 90,000 course enrollments, both up sharply from 2025.
• The Starbucks College Achievement Plan, a first-of-its-kind partnership with Arizona State University that offers all eligible U.S. Starbucks partners (employees) the opportunity to earn a first bachelor's degree through ASU's top-ranked online degree program, marked its 12th anniversary with nearly 20,000 graduates to date, up from 16,000 the year before, and 27,000 partners currently enrolled.

Military education partnerships also expanded: Air Force Global College has enrolled 120,000 students since 2020.

The report also introduces new initiatives, including ArmyU, which enrolled more than 3,000 students within six months of launch, and EDU.FYI, a new AI-focused learning collaboration with will.i.am.

"When you bring higher education to where people already are, they show up ready to learn," said Casey Evans, ASU EdPlus chief operating officer. "Our job is to keep finding those partners in new industries and new corners of the world, so a degree from ASU is never out of reach because of where someone works or where they live."

The next phase of growth will be shaped by artificial intelligence — both as a tool for personalizing learning at scale and as a subject students need to master for the future workforce.

Platforms like NeoSTEM, which already use AI-assisted authoring to build course content in days rather than months, point to where the unit is headed: faster, more adaptive and more affordable pathways to a degree.

Looking ahead, ASU EdPlus will continue expanding access through new technology, new partnerships and new markets, building on a model designed around the belief that learning is limitless for everyone, everywhere.

The full report is available in the ASU EdPlus newsroom.

About ASU EdPlus
ASU EdPlus serves as an innovation unit, translating the ASU Charter into reality. Our dedicated departments in design and innovation ideate, design and develop new ways to expand human capability and institutional capacity. At ASU EdPlus, innovation is our "how" and impact is our "why." We are creating a digital landscape that transforms learners, their families and their communities. 

SOURCE ASU EdPlus