Arizona State University is aiming to enroll an additional 100 million students by 2030 through a free global education initiative to be launched in April.
The program, to be announced Thursday, will translate into 40 languages and put online the materials for five business courses, with the aim of reaching students in every corner of the globe. The program will use machine learning and artificial intelligence to teach and grade. The courses will confer academic credit as well as lead to a global management and entrepreneurship certificate.
Enrollment in the first round of classes will be limited to college graduates, but the program is slated to include undergraduates in the near future, said Sanjeev Khagram, the dean and director general of ASU’s Thunderbird School of Global Management, which is leading the program. Credits will be transferable to most schools and can be used to pursue a degree at ASU, he said.
This year the initiative will attempt to reach students in Iran, Kenya, Mexico, Indonesia, Egypt, India, Senegal, Brazil and Vietnam in their native languages. By the second year, the program will aim to expand across Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin American and to 25 languages. And by the fourth year it will be available in Europe and Central Asia.
Philip Thigo, a senior director for Thunderbird based in Nairobi, Kenya, said students will access the classes on their computer or smartphone, with courses taught by teams of professors who will appear as avatars. Students will work with classmates from different countries.
Mr. Thigo said the credential tied to the courses is likely to resonate with African students, especially if it can be leveraged to borrow money from a bank and build a business.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/arizona-state-university-looks-to-enroll-100-million-more-students-by-2030-11642674604?mod=hp_listb_pos3
