Partnership with Arizona State Offers New Opportunities
Creating opportunities for Tennesseans and providing more pathways to an education have always been core to UT’s mission as the state’s flagship land-grant university. That’s why we are pleased to share that we have entered a transformational new partnership with Arizona State University to expand our online degree offerings and make it easier for students in Tennessee and beyond to access our world-class education.
We have been investing in our Digital Learning Unit over the past year to build capacity and support the work of our departments and faculty who are creating high-quality online programs.
UT faculty are among the best in the world. And with a larger platform, more people will benefit from their highly sought scholarship, outstanding instruction, and commitment to supporting our students. There is huge demand for more choices and flexibility in higher education, and we are poised to meet students where they are. Whether it’s a student who can’t access a traditional campus experience or an adult learner who is working and has a family but wants to continue their education, our goal is to provide options for those individuals through our enhanced digital platform.
Arizona State is a global leader in delivering high-quality academic programs to people worldwide through digital learning. While it would be natural to operate as competitors in this environment, we believe we can best serve students and provide more people with access to a college degree by working together.
This new alliance allows both universities to leverage resources, build best practices, and bring the expertise that exists on each campus to students in a digital format.
We have a master collaboration agreement in place that includes three main components: a course exchange between universities, collaboration on technology solutions, and operational advisory services provided by ASU to accelerate the development of our independent infrastructure and operational footprint. Oversight of our curriculum remains with our faculty, and our longstanding curriculum governance processes are not changed by the new partnership.
This is an exciting time for the university and for the people of Tennessee. If you are not already engaged in our digital learning efforts, I hope you will come to the table and be part of this important work.
As always, thank you for all you do.
Donde Plowman
Chancellor
John Zomchick
Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor