Refers to a rising number higher education institutions with very large enrollments and which commonly focus on flexibility, affordability, accessibility, and teaching and learning. Many of the mega-universities are optimized for working adults and have developed flexible online platforms for learning, often enhanced with artificial intelligence. Examples:

• Western Governor’s University (WGU): With over 156,000 students, its competency-based education model enables students to demonstrate skill acquisition and complete courses at their own pace, instead of within fixed credit hours. WGU has developed the Aera Decision Cloud platform to enable AI to predict student outcomes and recommend interventions to faculty.
• Arizona State University (ASU): With more than 150,000 students, it has expanded its online platform, ASU Digital Immersion, and with its partnership with OpenAI has launched an AI Innovation Challenge for faculty and staff to promote AI solutions across in all areas on campus.
• Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU): With approximately 158,000 students, its AI-powered chatbot "Penny" is designed to advise students on academics, finances, and wellness and has already increased student retention and performance.

Student experiences often differ in a mega-university from a traditional university. Students at a mega-university may never meet their professors because they’re taking asynchronous courses that provide little if any interaction with faculty. Students may also have few, if any, opportunities for interactive experiences on campus.

The role of faculty members may also differ. Institutions like SNHU and WGU have unbundled the role of the faculty member, to instead provide a life coach who stays with the student throughout matriculation. Additional features at these universities include teaching coaches plus expertise in instruction within the faculty such as WGU’s faculty who are dedicated to assessment.

See Topic: The Rise of Mega-Universities | Learn & Work Ecosystem Library