Former for-profit Ashford University, which enrolls 35,000 students, will become the new, nonprofit University of Arizona Global Campus.
The University of Arizona is moving online in a big way with a deal that could shake up the online education market and could signal more changes to come.
The public land-grant university announced today that it will acquire Ashford University — a fully online university that enrolls roughly 35,000 students.
As part of a “transformational” definitive agreement, signed today, the University of Arizona will create a new nonprofit entity called the University of Arizona Global Campus that will buy Ashford University for $1.
The University of Arizona Global Campus will be a nonprofit institution affiliated with the University of Arizona. The new online
university will maintain its own leadership, faculty members and academic programs. It will also be accredited separately.
Ashford University is currently accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Senior College and University Commission, while the University of Arizona is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.