Higher education can be a competitive environment. While faculty from different institutions often collaborate and share knowledge, institutions themselves rarely do. That’s what makes a new partnership between UT Knoxville and Arizona State University (ASU) so remarkable.
When UT Knoxville Chancellor Donde Plowman began her role in 2019, she recognized the university hadn’t kept up with other institutions in terms of digital-learning offerings. To learn about ways the school might advance its online education efforts, she and other UT Knoxville leaders traveled to Arizona State, a global leader in high-quality digital learning programs. During that visit, ASU President Michael Crow suggested that UT Knoxville partner with his university.
Plowman was intrigued by the idea of a university offering to team up with another. She recognized the opportunity could have far-reaching benefits, not just for UTK students but also for Tennessee and other states.
“I said, ‘Well, what would that look like?’” Plowman recalls. “And he said, ‘I don’t know. Let’s figure it out.’”
So, they did.
The two institutions took a chance on a bold partnership to leverage ASU’s experience and success in delivering online programs to expand access at UTK. Plowman and Crow announced the collaboration in April 2024 at the annual ASU+GSV Summit, the world’s preeminent education innovation conference, and launched it later that year.
Sharing Values and Knowledge
Nationwide, the demand for flexible learning options is growing as the needs of modern students evolve. Residential programs aren’t feasible for all learners, especially adults who want to further their education while caring for dependents and working. The collaboration, Plowman says the only one of its kind and scale in the country—reinforces UTK’s commitment to education access and academic excellence.
In many ways, school leaders say, the partnership between the two schools is a natural fit. Both are research-intensive public universities. ASU’s charter emphasizes educational inclusion, which meshes well with UTK’s longstanding role as a land-grant university that serves the people of Tennessee.
“We have the same values,” Plowman says. “We have a very similar mission.”
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The agreement includes a course exchange between the universities, collaboration on technology solutions and operational advisory services provided by ASU to accelerate the development of UT Knoxville’s independent infrastructure and operational footprint. The university currently offers more than 70 fully online degree and certificate programs across nearly 80 subject areas and expects to launch additional programs this year.
While ASU shares its deep knowledge of online education, UTK’s expertise helps ASU as well. For example, ASU doesn’t have a college of agriculture, but its state does have agricultural challenges that need solutions.
“This alliance is a way for us to learn from UT Knoxville and for them to learn from us. This is a part of a process in which we all benefit,” Crow says.
Collaborating and Celebrating
By collaborating instead of competing, the two universities are empowering learners to create their educational paths while addressing the changing needs of the U.S. workforce. In Tennessee, about 1 million people have some college credit but no degree. Expanding access to online learning seeks to close that gap.
In April 2025, Crow and a delegation from ASU joined Plowman and other UTK leaders in Knoxville to celebrate the partnership and highlight the important role public research universities play in advancing the social and economic vitality of their states.
The visit featured a public forum moderated by UTK Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor John Zomchick and attended by higher education and K-12 education leaders, and business, civic, economic development and policy leaders from across Tennessee. During the forum, Plowman and Crow highlighted strategic partnerships enhancing workforce development and regional growth, technological advancements shaping the future of higher education and innovative approaches increasing access and student success.
Plowman cites UTK’s new College of Emerging and Collaborative Studies as an example of higher education’s role in filling workforce gaps. The first-of-its-kind college draws on expertise from throughout the university to develop cutting-edge curriculum and enable students to forge their own educational paths.
“There are so many job needs out there that don’t necessarily require a major like we’ve always constructed it,” she says. “We’re listening to our leaders in industry and then trying to build and serve the state with the things they need.”
Plowman and Crow also met with UTK department heads during the visit to discuss how online programs advance the university’s mission of making education more accessible while maintaining the highest academic standards. They discussed how ASU’s EdPlus program offers digital teaching and learning models that reduce barriers to learning and increase student success.
During a luncheon, Plowman and Crow encouraged college deans to invest in developing online programs and discussed the many ways expanding access to digital learning benefits students, colleges and institutions.
As UTK and ASU advance their message about the many benefits of online education, the two institutions look forward to growing the partnership. The list of course offerings will continue to expand, giving students more opportunities than ever to achieve their education goals. Several colleges at UTK are already ramping up their online programming, preparing students for in-demand roles and feeding the job pipeline across Tennessee and beyond.
“What actually matters as a public university—and as a land-grant institution in our case—is the broad impact we are having, the work we are producing, the discoveries we are making. We cannot achieve our fullest potential alone, whether that means working with employers to meet workforce needs, with industry to advance science and technology, or with other institutions to provide the best possible education to our students,” Plowman says. “I am grateful to President Crow and ASU for embarking on this partnership with us and helping us deliver more opportunities to more people in Tennessee and beyond.”
