Cambridge, MA - edX is thrilled to share that Online Campus Essentials, our free learning solution for higher ed that promotes student success by supporting the creation of high-quality blended and online learning experiences, will continue to be available through June 2022. This offering, which is part of our comprehensive edX Online Campus product, furthers our vision of a global supply chain — a world where universities come together to create a network of content and credentials that deliver real impact for learners.

Attitudes towards online learning have shifted rapidly in the past year — a survey from Cengage found that 57% of students are more optimistic about online learning since the start of the pandemic, and 73% of students agree "somewhat" or "strongly" that they would like to take some fully online courses in the future. edX recognizes online learning must be a key pillar of every university’s strategy, in order to support students with quality learning, increase education access, and drive successful outcomes.  

With the resource constraints faced by many due to COVID-19 in mind, edX wanted to make it as easy as possible for higher education institutions around the world to provide accessible, high-quality learning to their students, faculty, and staff. The Online Campus Essentials course catalog is informed by insights and data from our work with university partners and customers, the World Economic Forum and other industry leaders, and skills taxonomies developed by trusted research organizations like EMCI and Burning Glass Technologies. It focuses on 10 subject areas that are needed in online formats and important to students for academic and career success.We worked with our partners, including Harvard, IBM, TU Delft, and Anahuac, who are among the top experts in these areas to offer their courses via Online Campus Essentials for free — all in the service of ensuring learning continuity worldwide.

“The rapid adoption of online courses around the world, accelerated by a global health crisis, has presented a unique opportunity for Harvard to support higher education institutions worldwide and reach learners in new places. We are thrilled to offer colleges and universities free access to some of our most exciting and engaging courses as part of edX Online Campus Essentials, so that learning and progress can continue uninterrupted for university students everywhere!” - Catherine Breen, Managing Director, Office of the Vice Provost for Advances in Learning, Harvard University

“IBM is committed to providing a unique set of resources to help aspiring professionals develop meaningful careers. Supporting higher education is an essential pillar of this mission, and IBM will continue offering our popular courses at no charge via edX Online Campus Essentials. Online education is more important than ever, as we enable learners to explore new ideas and careers – anytime, anywhere.” - Leon Katsnelson, Director and CTO, Skills Network, IBM Developer Ecosystem Group

“TU Delft contributes to solving global challenges by educating new generations of socially responsible engineers. We consider sharing knowledge and expertise globally as part of our university's mission to educate the world. Participating in edX's Online Campus Essentials is one of the ways in which we can increase access to high quality education for more people. The initiative expands our reach and brings us in contact with new audiences, additionally enabling us to incorporate learning from this experience to improve our online education offering.”  - Willem van Valkenburg, Executive Director TU Delft, Extension School for Continuing Education

“It is our responsibility as an educational institution to provide a global vision to our community and this is only possible by enriching the learning experience with content from the best international institutions. Thanks to initiatives such as Online Campus Essentials by edX, we have this benefit available to our teachers and students, forming highly trained global citizens.” - Miguel Pérez Gómez, Rector, Universidad Anáhuac Mayab, AnáhuacX

In just over a year, Online Campus has supported over 1,000 higher ed institutions around the world in creating their campus of the future and ensuring educational access, quality, and success for all learners. More than 170,000 students have enrolled in over 500,000 courses in subjects like computer science, data analytics, humanities and general education. 

Learn more about edX Online Campus and Online Campus Essentials.