How we learn
ASU’s mission is deeply rooted in its commitment to Arizona, and as our state has grown and evolved, we have constantly adapted to meet the needs of its diverse residents. Even as we’ve become the largest university by enrollment in the nation, we have remained focused on our mission: student success. ASU provides Arizonans with access to higher education and empowers them to pursue their dreams, build fulfilling careers and thrive both as contributors and stakeholders in the state’s prosperity.
At ASU, we’ve made a promise to be radically accessible and inclusive because we believe that’s the responsibility of a public university in the world we live in today. Being accessible is particularly important for first-generation, minority and veteran students – people who reflect the population of Arizona, and for whom attending college is a new experience.
To help students succeed, we’ve developed new technologies and teaching approaches to help our students overcome obstacles and achieve results that help them become learners for life. And because the road college success begins long before college, we’re providing top-quality K-12 learning experiences to create strong college pathways for students across the state.
Providing the access and inclusivity Arizonans deserve
At ASU, we’ve figured out how to make education accessible for every kind of learner. Our admissions standards are comparable to public research universities across the nation, but we admit every qualified student who meets these standards—maintaining accessibility for all learners and making huge investments to ensure they succeed. Going to college is great, but graduating from college is the goal.
59,000+
Arizona students enrolled
90%
Acceptance rate
88%
Graduation rate
85%
First-year retention rate
54%
Of new students are AZ residents
ASU has made college affordable like never before, with one-third of our students receiving need-based federal aid (Pell Grants). We’re also committed to making education accessible for people who are the first in their families to attend college—quadrupling the number of first-generation students over the last 20 years.
85%
Students receiving Pell aid
33%
First-generation students
33%
Receive financial assistance
A university as diverse as Arizona
Arizona is one of the most diverse states in the nation, with nearly 47% of residents representing ethnic minority backgrounds. Over the last 20 years, ASU has worked to ensure that its student body reflects that diversity.
3,800+
American Indian/Alaska Native students enrolled, 2023
48%
First-year ethnic minority students, 2023
29%
Increase in undergraduate Hispanic students, 2016-2022
Serving Arizona’s veterans and military-connected learners
ASU has one of the highest veteran and military-connected learner student populations in the country and maintains a comprehensive, university-wide commitment to their wellbeing and thriving. We honor the service and sacrifices of our student veterans by infusing their perspectives and experiences across academic disciplines, amplifying their voices through community programming that deepens their connections with traditional students and providing pathways to leadership, service and career success. Resources like the Pat Tillman Veterans Center and Office for Veteran and Military Engagement help ASU to achieve this mission and are key to why “Military Times” has repeatedly named ASU a top school for veterans and military-connected learners, both for on-campus and online programs. ASU is also leading the nation in developing academic pathways and fields of study related to veteran and military experiences. We are proud to offer the first-ever degree in Applied Military and Veteran Studies and are actively working to convene local and national stakeholders to increase interest in education, research and scholarship around veterans issues.
16,000+
Veterans and military learners
A partner for K-12 success
Arizona’s high school graduation rate, at just over 75%, is below the national average. ASU believes we can do better, and we’re working with K-12 schools, district leaders and parents to make it happen. We’ve committed our resources to strengthening teaching, learning and teacher preparation resources across the state in partnership with schools, students and families.
Building Arizona’s teacher pipeline
Nearly 60% of Arizona schools are struggling to fill teacher vacancies, and more than 13% of teachers are planning to leave the profession. ASU is tackling this challenge by partnering with Arizona K-12 schools and districts to create smoother pathways into teaching and opportunities for continuous professional growth. Through its Next Education Workforce initiative, ASU’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College engages educators to deepen their knowledge, strengthen their practice and advance in their careers to increase their satisfaction and drive their professional growth for the long haul. ASU has also reached nearly 21,000 teachers and more than 1,500 schools statewide through its Virtual Training Institute, a free, comprehensive platform that offers professional development, coursework and resources.
Expanding K-12 access and resources
ASU Prep: Providing K-12 access and college pathways
ASU is making Arizona’s K-12 system more accessible and inclusive through ASU Preparatory Academies (ASU Prep), a network of tuition-free Arizona charter schools that now serve more than 4,200 full-time students. ASU Prep’s programming is focused on meeting the needs of low-income and disadvantaged students, and they’re excelling: 87% of ASU prep seniors successfully enroll in college, well beyond the national average, and often with earned college credits.
ASU Prep Digital: Scaling quality K-12 experiences across Arizona
Building on the success of ASU Prep, ASU developed ASU Prep Digital, a fully online learning platform that offers high school and university-level coursework to more than 7,500 online students across Arizona. ASU Prep Digital serves as a major resource to Arizona schools, with content and services that have reached more than 108,000 students and teachers to date.
Ensuring the success of every student
It’s not enough to make sure college is accessible for Arizona’s learners—we have to make sure they succeed. ASU has risen to this challenge by designing new technology from the ground up and transforming our culture with the goal of creating an environment where learners cannot fail.
Even as we’ve more than doubled our student body over two decades, we’ve radically improved instructional quality and the student experience, all while creating opportunities for learners that allow them to pursue pathways as unique as they are.
Personalized learning and advising: Customizing student success
No two learners are alike, and ASU has pioneered solutions for mass personalization to ensure that every learner succeeds—even as we serve more than 175,000 learners at any given time. For more than 15 years, ASU has developed personalized approaches to improve students’ performance and keep them on track to graduate. ASU’s adaptive learning technologies and teaching models allow students to learn at a customized pace, focus on challenge areas rather than what they already know, and get just-in-time support from instructors. ASU also developed the eAdvisor dashboard, a nationally recognized tool that helps students make informed choices about their studies and provides a clear roadmap to graduation. eAdvisor empowers students to take ownership of their academic journey, stay on track to graduate, and receive targeted support to guarantee their success and thriving.
We’ve developed tools to make sure that no one who takes college algebra or introductory biology will fail. Our technology enables everyone to not only pass but also make it to graduation—everyone.
Hollywood creativity sparks teaching and learning
Interactive digital technologies are integrated into the daily life of today’s students, and ASU is bringing them into the classroom to help students to learn and engage more effectively. Dreamscape Learn is a groundbreaking collaboration between ASU and Dreamscape Immersive, co-founded by renowned film producer Walter Parkes, that transforms learning through immersive virtual reality experiences. Harnessing the power of high-tech cinematic storytelling, Dreamscape Learn transports students into interactive virtual worlds where they can engage in hands-on, simulated learning to master even the most complex concepts, leading to improved knowledge retention and success, especially in STEM fields. This innovative approach has already demonstrated a remarkable impact, with Dreamscape Learn students being 1.7 times more likely to achieve an “A” in their biology lab coursework and marginalized students performing equally with peers in traditional courses.
From barista to bachelor’s degree
What would happen if one of the largest employers in the United States partnered with one of the largest universities in the country to help employees do something to change their life? ASU and Starbucks have shown how such a collaboration can create life-changing opportunities for thousands of students through the Starbucks College Achievement Program, one of the largest-ever employee benefit programs in history. The program allows Starbucks partners to earn bachelors degrees in a flexible, fully-online format in 150 different subjects with a 100% tuition reimbursement. Over the last 10 years, more than 12,000 Starbucks partners across the country have graduated from ASU.