Learning across lifetimes: ASU’s model empowers communities, industries and generations

ASU reimagines education as a lifelong system for access, impact and adaptability

This article is part of our 2025 Year-in-Review series, a retrospective on the inspiring stories of Arizona State University’s Learning Enterprise (LE), focused on advancing learning across all stages of life.

By the numbers

• 3.2 million+ course registrations across Learning Enterprise programs since launch
• 730,000+ course registrations in 2025
• 14,500 global enrollments across LE programs in 2025
• Learners from 157 countries enrolled in LE programs since launch 
• 770+ courses available through LE

Arizona State University measures itself by whom it includes and how they succeed.

While many universities emphasize increasingly selective admissions, ASU is building a model built around access and learner success, serving a wide range of traditional degree seekers, adult learners and career changers.

In 2025, ASU continued to reimagine education as an enterprise that supports learners across life stages. From the inaugural ASU Learning Summit hosted in August to major milestones including the Changing Futures Campaign and the launch of the Rob Walton School of Conservation Futures, ASU is expanding the model of what education can be.

A learner-centered future

For two days in August, ASU faculty and staff from across the university’s schools and colleges came together to workshop the question: what does it really mean to put learners first?

Hosted by ASU’s Learning Enterprise , participants at the inaugural ASU Learning Summit worked to create a “Map through the Maze,” the event’s grounding theme. LE taps into the wealth of knowledge generated by ASU’s schools and colleges to make learning accessible at all stages of life

“We’re not just designing programs. We’re connecting the dots,” shared Marco Serrato, vice president of ASU’s Learning Enterprise. “We ask: ‘What is this learning offering for?’ Not just what it’s about — but how it will help someone move forward, grow or gain opportunity. That’s how we live ASU’s charter.”

The summit focused on learner-focused themes, including:

• Breaking barriers to higher education access
• Expanding opportunity through technology and design
• Collaborating across ASU’s schools and colleges

Taken together, the summit’s sessions coalesced into a greater vision to serve the real needs of real learners, no matter what their stage of life.

In the closing keynote session, “The New American University and ASU’s Learner-Oriented Future,” President Michael Crow championed the idea that inclusion and excellence are not competing goals, but forces that benefit each other.

Tackling global challenges

In the spring of 2025, ASU kicked off the global Changing Futures campaign — part of the university’s mission to develop leaders capable of addressing the challenges facing society at large. 

Through the campaign, managed by the ASU Foundation for a New American University, ASU hopes to attract philanthropy and new partnerships that will facilitate the campaign’s priorities, including leadership development, higher education access, sustainability and global health. 

As part of the campaign’s goals, ASU hopes to reach 250 million learners worldwide and reach $1.5 billion in research investment annually. 

Partners have already shown support for the campaign, with multi-million dollar investments committed by donors including the W.P Carey Foundation and Sue Hart-Wadley and Searle Wadley.

“The Changing Futures campaign is dedicated to transforming futures, starting right here in Arizona with the most innovative university and extending regionally, nationally and globally to ensure learners, researchers, future leaders and society as a whole have transformational opportunities to learn, grow and thrive,” said Gretchen Buhlig, CEO of ASU Foundation for a New American University. “By connecting donors with their passions, we can provide the support necessary for students to thrive and make a positive impact in the world.”

The next generation of conservation leaders

By the fall of 2025, the Changing Futures campaign saw an unprecedented $115 million philanthropic investment — the largest in the university’s history. 

The commitment was made by the Rob Walton Foundation, with the goal of funding the new Rob Walton School of Conservation Futures. 

Rob Walton, the former chairman of Walmart, is a longtime philanthropist, conservationist and supporter of ASU. During Climate Week in September 2025, Walton, together with President Crow, announced the launch of the new conservation school at ASU.

“Conservation is important for our whole world,” said Walton. “We need nature to survive. We need clean air, clean water and food that is healthy. All those things come from nature. Ultimately, I’ve made this a priority.”

The School of Conservation Futures will offer undergraduate and graduate degrees as well as certificate programs for high school students, professionals and executives, with a focus on developing the conservation leaders of tomorrow.

“We are incredibly grateful for this transformational investment from Rob Walton and his unwavering support of ASU and planetary health,” said Gretchen Buhlig, CEO of the ASU Foundation for a New American University. “This gift will accelerate ASU’s work with global partners by enabling them to collaborate and co-design and deliver cutting-edge conservation education and training programs to ensure the next generation of conservation leaders are equipped with the skills and knowledge needed to lead in the rapidly evolving field of conservation.”