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About a decade ago, MIT and Harvard jumped into what was then the biggest edtech craze of the moment: delivering free online courses for the general public (they were known as MOOCs). The two well-known universities invested $30 million each into starting a platform called edX to make these online courses. Things didn’t go as originally expected with that trend — meaning these courses didn’t totally reshape higher education and expand access to underserved audiences — and in 2021 the universities sold off edX to the for-profit edtech company 2U for about $800 million.

Today officials from MIT and Harvard announced details of how they plan to spend that $800 million windfall.

From the outset, the plan was for the money to support a nonprofit to support innovation in online education. But specifics have been sparse.

Now the group has a name, a mission and a leader.

The nonprofit will be called the Axim Collaborative, and its focus will be on serving learners that higher ed has historically left behind, those “systemically underserved by current education and workforce systems,” according to a statement by the group.

Don’t expect any one big flashy initiative, though. Officials for the group tell EdSurge that the goal is to partner with others to support projects that build better student engagement in online courses or support better college and career outcomes. That might include doing research, building tech tools or helping manage organizations. 

The CEO of the group will be Stephanie Khurana, who is now the chief operating officer of the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, a venture philanthropy organization that supports social ventures attempting to tackle large societal problems.

As expected, the new nonprofit will also continue to manage the Open edX platform, the open source system that underpins edX courses and can also be used by anyone (well, anyone with the tech know-how and servers to run it).

Despite the large $800 million nest egg, the plan is for Axim Collaborative to treat that money like an endowment — and to operate on an annual budget of about $25 to $30 million, officials tell EdSurge. 

Phil Hill, a longtime education consultant and blogger, criticized that pace of spending. “I would have expected more than that,” he told EdSurge. “They had an opportunity to do more with that big investment than just perpetuate themselves.” 

Khurana doesn’t start her role until Monday, so this Axim Consortium is just whirring to life, and plenty of questions about the specifics still remain.

But it seems clear that the nonprofit aims to get back to the roots of what drove the initial excitement about MOOCs — bringing in students who have been shut out — but with a more nuanced understanding that the price of a course is just one of many complex factors impacting access to the best education and careers.

👂 EAR TO THE GROUND

DESIGNING A SPACE FOR BELONGING: A free after-school program sponsored by Google has helped thousands of students of color feel more at home exploring STEM fields, and many have gone on to major in these subjects in college. EdSurge visited the Code Next lab in Oakland, California, to learn more — and to find out whether this kind of program can address longstanding inequities in who benefits from tech opportunities. 

FUTURE TEACHERS: There’s a lot of talk about the teacher pipeline “drying up.” Yet even as teacher prep programs face dwindling enrollment, students across the country are still choosing to enter the field, undeterred by the turmoil of the teaching profession, full of resolve and hope and momentum. Who are these future teachers? And why is this the path they chose? In a new series launched this week, we find out. 

✍️ COLUMNIST CORNER

TEACHING LESSONS FROM MOM: At a time when so many people find it hard to hold discussions with people they disagree with, our teaching columnist Bonni Stachowiak reflects on how as a child she learned how to listen to the viewpoints of others. 

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🎧 ON THE PODCAST

ARE THEY PAYING ATTENTION?: EdSurge visited large lecture classes to get a sense of what college feels like now that COVID-19 is under control after years of pandemic disruptions. Students and professors say that years of remote instruction — often referred to as ‘Zoom University’ — has left many students more likely to get distracted by their devices, or to place less value on class, thinking they can get whatever is happening in classrooms on their own.

📈 STAT-O-MATIC

68 percent

The share of faculty members at U.S. colleges who held contingent jobs in fall 2021, according to a new report by the American Association of University Professors. That category includes roles ineligible for tenure, such as adjunct professor positions and jobs with renewable contracts. This is a big shift since 1987, when only about 47 percent of faculty had contingent jobs.

💼 BYTE-SIZE BRIEFS

New network calls attention to a decade-long decline in college enrollment among Black students. (Inside Higher Ed) 

The Internet Archive lost its first fight to scan and lend ebooks like a library. (The Verge)

College applicants still aren’t submitting SAT, ACT scores at pre-pandemic levels. (Higher Ed Dive)

📣 SPOKEN WORD

“Oftentimes when we recruit diverse employees or diverse students, we rely on the richness of their diverse perspectives to educate us. … But we, as an institution, have to also transform and change and think about our structures and our policies and procedures.”

— Mary Grace Almandrez, vice president for diversity and inclusion at Syracuse University, describing efforts to create a sense of belonging on campus. (The Chronicle of Higher Education)

😆 BACK OF THE CLASS

RANKED TO YOUR TASTE: Looking for a college that’s affordable and also has a party scene? How about one with a big sports program whose alumni earn a lot after graduation? Or the combo of strong academics and an economically diverse student body? Check out the new personalized college rankings tool The New York Times published that draws on data from the U.S. Department of Education. (If that first set of criteria appeals, you may like Florida State. If you’re more into the second set, consider Duke. For the third set, try Stevens Institute of Technology.)    

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Project Coordinator Talent 2 | Northwestern University | Evanston, IL

Project Coordinator Talent 2 (CTD K-12 Online Programs) manages planning, implementation, and day-to-day operations of online talent development programs for gifted and academically talented students in grades K-12.

Research Data Manager | Calbright College | Cambridge, MA

YouthTruth is looking for an Analyst to join our team! In this role, you will work closely with YouthTruth’s energetic and diverse staff to provide district leaders and school principals with data-driven insights to enhance their effectiveness.

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YouthTruth is looking for an Analyst to join our team! In this role, you will work closely with YouthTruth’s energetic and diverse staff to provide district leaders and school principals with data-driven insights to enhance their effectiveness.

Instructional Support Technician | University at Buffalo Career Design Center | Buffalo, NY

UB Career Design Center invites those with experience using technology platforms to help students design their careers + life after college. In this role, you will lead technology integration and workflow, adoption and engagement, troubleshoot and resolve support issues, and design and deliver training resources.

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Events

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2023 ASCD Annual Conference | March 31 - April 3 | Denver, CO

Soar to New Heights at the 2023 ASCD Annual Conference! Learn, celebrate, and connect. Don’t miss this action-packed event with hundreds of educational movers, shakers, and change-makers. Supercharge as an educator ready to shape the future of education.

ISTELive 23 Conference and Expo | June 25 - 28 | Philadelphia, PA

At ISTELive 23, you'll discover what's next in education and explore ideas for using tech to revolutionize learning. Get inspired about teaching and learning as you reconnect with peers and meet an enthusiastic global community of educators!