2025 Impact Report

Creating Paths to Success

We invest in partnerships to ensure every student has the educational opportunity to thrive in a changing economy.

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Welcome

A Letter from Our Chief Executive Officer

At Axim Collaborative, we envision a future where every learner thrives on educational paths that lead to real opportunity. This year, we made meaningful strides toward that vision. We are proud to introduce our 30 new innovative partnerships supporting a wide range of pathways from education to meaningful employment from high school through community colleges, trade schools, credential programs, and four-year universities. We are honored to work with more than 50 leaders with the vision and dedication needed to build and scale innovative solutions for greater student success.

We believe every learner should be set up to succeed on the path that is right for them. Yet each year, millions of learners begin postsecondary programs and never finish, while employers across industries struggle to find the skilled talent they need. In today’s rapidly evolving technological and economic landscape, the connection between education and dynamic careers is more critical than ever, but paths remain too fragmented, too uneven, and too difficult to navigate.

That is why we invest in forward-looking education leaders who bring a clear-eyed understanding of the change required and a deep belief in what is possible. Together, we are reshaping postsecondary education by creating seamless paths from learning to work that enable thousands—and eventually millions—of students not just to persist but to thrive.

Our work centers on supporting innovation and collaboration at the institutions that drive economic mobility in communities across the country—community colleges, vocational trade schools, large public systems, historically Black colleges and universities, and state-level agencies. We fund partnerships that break down traditional silos, bringing together technology, research, employers, and nonprofit service organizations to bridge silos across sectors and scale solutions that work.

Our partners are advancing innovative solutions, such as hybrid course pathways, stacked credential-to-career programs, artificial intelligence-powered teaching and advising tools, integrated student-facing academic and career portals, course-embedded artificial intelligence work-based learning, and digital credentials of value. These innovations are not only helping students chart meaningful paths to opportunity, but they also hold the power to transform education-to-work systems at scale across the country and around the globe.

Learners nationwide already benefit from these partnerships, and their voices say it best. At ASU Local—in Chula Vista, California—students can anchor in their local community college while earning bachelor’s degrees from Arizona State University. One student said, “It gives me the perfect balance to take care of my family responsibilities.” Another added, “ASU Local has the support and guidance first-generation students need.”

In Ohio, Lorain County Community College’s Bridges to Success program connects students with local industries through hands-on learning, helping them gain real-world skills and access early employment opportunities. “When presented with a free exploratory option, a scholarship of sorts, doors opened for students,” said Avon High School Principal Kristina Dobos Buller.

Axim’s commitment to educational innovation runs deep. Founded by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and building on our roots as the team that pioneered edX in 2012, we bring forward bold ideas and a shared aspiration to create transformative educational opportunities across the country and around the globe. Looking ahead, we expect to continue to grow our partnerships, build ecosystems, and expand our impact.

Together, we can help more students complete their education, find fulfilling work, and build brighter futures for themselves and their families while helping employers access the talent they need to grow. We’re honored to partner with so many innovators across this landscape.

Learn more about our exciting work through our inaugural impact report. We hope you will join us on this journey.

With gratitude,

Stephanie Khurana

Chief Executive Officer

Our Approach

Axim develops innovative partnerships to build seamless paths from education to career success, aligning learning with workforce needs. Through research-backed strategies, technology integration, and capacity-building support, we empower partners to innovate, improve outcomes, and expand access to all learners.

What We Do to Further Student Outcomes

We believe that clear, seamless, and dynamic educational paths are critical for all students to thrive. Our partnerships focus on innovations that overcome the largest barriers to student success and economic opportunity, guided by our three pillars:

Engage

Increase Student Engagement
Axim equips partnerships to help more learners find the right educational path and experience exciting new ways to learn to fully benefit from their education.

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Enable

Enable Student Success
Axim works with partnerships to advance innovations in advising, mentoring, and community support that empower learners to overcome challenges, stay on track, and complete their credentials.

Excel Icon

Excel

Prepare Students to Excel
Axim supports partnerships to align education programs with meaningful career opportunities to ensure learners are career-ready and supported in achieving long-term personal and professional success.

Axim’s partners and innovators gathered at our AI & Education Convening in 2024 to share insights and create practical solutions that drive real impact for learners.

Partnership Spotlights

Innovation Through Collaboration

At Axim, our partnerships are catalysts for change and showcase what is possible when mission-driven partners come together to break down barriers and build paths to student success.

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College of the Canyons and Carnegie Mellon University

Engage

AI for Learning Network: Transforming Teaching Through Co-Creating Faculty Training

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College of the Canyons & Carnegie Mellon University

AI for Learning Network: Transforming Teaching Through Co-Creating Faculty Training

Engage

Online/Hybrid Courseware and Pedagogy

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At a Glance

  • 31 community colleges
  • 16 State University of New York colleges and universities
  • 9 Historically Black colleges and universities

The Opportunity

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) in education presents both opportunities and challenges for faculty, especially those at broad access institutions like community colleges and historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Although AI tools can enhance the educational environment, many educators lack access to practical training on ways to integrate these technologies into their classrooms and may struggle to keep pace with the increasing requirements for AI skills that employers expect college graduates to have.

The Innovation

Carnegie Mellon University’s Open Learning Initiative, College of the Canyons, SUNY Open Educational Resources Services, and the UNCF are partnering to launch the AI for Learning Network (AI4LN), an initiative that equips faculty with the skills and resources needed to successfully integrate AI into their teaching while ensuring access to high-quality training materials. The project is based on the principle of co-designing and co-creating solutions with those who will be served to best meet their needs. AI4LN creates learning experiences for educators with educators.

AI4LN is a faculty-centered, professional development initiative that develops practical, online AI training for educators that will lead to a professional development credential. The project leverages its partners’ teaching expertise and classroom experience to create a set of online courses covering foundational AI knowledge and practical applications for educators.

AI4LN is launching online learning modules in fall 2025 and has seen strong engagement from faculty eager to participate in AI-focused professional development. The initiative successfully recruited eight subject matter experts with broad disciplinary backgrounds who collaborated with learning engineers at Carnegie Mellon University to co-design and co-create learning modules. The project then recruited 60-plus faculty from 31 California community colleges, 16 colleges from the SUNY system of public colleges and universities, and nine HBCUs to pilot the learning modules as learners and provide structured and informal feedback to drive iterative improvements to the learning modules.

Path to Scale and Impact

AI4LN is creating scalable professional development frameworks that will equip faculty with AI skills that they can adapt to the future of learning and work, ensuring broad access to AI-driven education. These frameworks are openly licensed and designed to be flexible and inclusive, enabling educators across diverse institutions to meaningfully integrate AI into their teaching practices.

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By The Numbers

  • Initial cohort of faculty members participating: 62 (received 600+ applications)
  • Would you recommend this course to a colleague?: 95% responded Yes
  • Potential number of students to benefit in year 1: 9,188
  • Potential number of students to benefit by year 5: 45,940
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Complete College America and Riipen

Excel

Empowering the Future Workforce: Artificial Intelligence Education Meets Experiential Learning

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Complete College America & Riipen

Empowering the Future Workforce: Artificial Intelligence Education Meets Experiential Learning

Excel

Education and Career Pathway Connections

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At a Glance

  • 5 community colleges

The Opportunity

As artificial intelligence (AI) transforms the workforce, employers increasingly seek graduates with AI-related skills. Work-based learning opportunities like internships and co-ops help students build these competencies and improve career outcomes. However, such experiences are often costly, labor-intensive, and concentrated at selective institutions. This leaves many students at broad-access institutions without equitable access to experiential learning.

The Innovation

Complete College America and Riipen have launched a groundbreaking initiative to transform work-based learning at open access institutions by integrating AI education into college curricula. Through Riipen’s platform, faculty at five community colleges—Atlanta Metropolitan State College, City Colleges of Chicago, City University of New York, Cuyahoga Community College, and Pikes Peak State College—are partnering with employers to embed real-world, AI-focused projects into coursework, bridging the gap between academic training and workforce demands. Each college has formed interdisciplinary teams of faculty, career services professionals, and academic leaders who are receiving training to embed AI competencies into courses. Beginning in fall 2025, students will engage in hands-on, employer-aligned projects, with courses running through 2026.

Path to Scale and Impact

  • For Riipen, this project is an opportunity to understand community colleges’ unique needs, refine their solution to better support student and institutional success, and share learnings to expand access to meaningful work-integrated learning opportunities.
  • Complete College America will share results with its network of institutional partners and support other institutions interested in implementing it.
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“If the folks in our communities don’t get that information from us or through us, they’ll ultimately be on the back end of the labor advances, cultural advances and technological advances.”

— Dr. Michael Baston, President, Cuyahoga Community College, in Palmer, K. (2025, January 23). Community Colleges Join Forces to Expand Access to AI Training. Inside Higher Ed.

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UNCF HBCUv®

Engage

Partnering with HBCUs to Scale Innovation through a Shared Online Course and Community Engagement Platform

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UNCF HBCUv®

Partnering with Historically Black Colleges and Universities to Scale Innovation through a Shared Online Course and Community Engagement Platform

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Online/Hybrid Courseware and Pedagogy

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At a Glance

  • 9 Historically Black colleges and universities

The Opportunity

Since their inception and despite historic underfunding, historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs)—70% of whose students are federal Pell Grant-eligible—have provided innovative campus-based programs and student success initiatives, resulting in significant improvements in economic mobility for their graduates.1,2 Hybrid and online learning can boost student success and hold great potential to scale HBCUs’ innovation but are costly. To address this, UNCF has partnered with HBCUs to create HBCUv®, a shared online course delivery and student engagement platform designed “by HBCUs, for HBCUs.”

The Innovation

HBCUv® expands access to education by enhancing online learning through the introduction of the HBCUv® Authentic Course Design Framework that combines online course instructional design best practices with student success strategies. This Framework, which UNCF developed in collaboration with HBCU faculty and with input from Harvard’s vice provost for advances in learning, has also informed the creation of courseware enhancement guides. These guides provide recommendations on how to adapt and customize existing courseware based on open educational resources to optimize it for HBCU student success. Based on over 3,000 hours of research conducted on HBCU campuses, the HBCUv® “user experience” has been designed from the ground up to be reflective of these institutions’ vibrant, rigorous, and supportive environments.

UNCF, working with its HBCU partners, has laid a strong groundwork for student success. Leveraging the HBCUv® Authentic Course Design Framework and related guides to run an initial pilot of the HBCUv® Minimal Viable Product in fall 2024, UNCF is now applying lessons learned to further develop a sustainable framework for ongoing faculty collaboration and professional development.

Path to Scale and Impact

Over the next three to five years, HBCUv® aims to become the premier digital learning ecosystem for HBCUs, with the goal of scaling course sharing between HBCUs to enhance student success and institutional efficiency. HBCUv® will enable HBCUs to compete effectively in the “digital education” marketplace and generate new revenue—helping to ensure their ongoing legacy and impact across our global communities.

1 UNCF. (n.d.). The HBCU Effect.
2 UNCF. (2024). HBCUs Transforming Generations: 2024 Consumer and Economic Impact Report.

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“With HBCUv®, we’re building on that legacy, using technology to open even more doors to student success and long-term impact. HBCUv® isn’t just a platform, it’s a shared commitment to honor the innovation, excellence, and community that define HBCUs, while scaling that experience for a digital future.”

— Dr. Nicole Pride, Program Performance Officer, UNCF

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Massachusetts Board of Higher Education and Department of Higher Education

Cross-Cutting

Breaking Silos, Building Opportunity: The Power of State-Led Innovation in Massachusetts

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Massachusetts Board of Higher Education & the Department of Higher Education

Breaking Silos, Building Opportunity: The Power of State-Led Innovation in Massachusetts

Cross-Cutting

High School Outreach and Supports, Credentials of Value/Labor Market Analytics, and Career Pathway Connections

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At a Glance

  • 2 community colleges
  • 2 four-year public universities
  • 9 high schools
  • 3 nonprofit organizations

The Opportunity

Higher education institutions have long pursued innovation to enhance student success, yet these advancements often remain siloed, limiting their ability to scale and drive systemwide progress. State-level policymakers and education agencies have a unique vantage point to identify opportunities, facilitate cross-institutional collaboration, leverage resources and policy tools, and scale meaningful change across postsecondary education.

The Innovation

The Massachusetts Board of Higher Education and Department of Higher Education have launched an Innovation Hub that partners with local institutions to use data and technology to boost student success. The Innovation Hub’s mission is to seed talent and resources at the state level, driving innovation that expands economic opportunity and social mobility for all students.

The Innovation Hub leads initiatives to support learners across Massachusetts, including:

  • Expanding Awareness of Need-Based Financial Aid: Massachusetts Alliance for Early College is developing new messaging strategies and a technology platform that delivers customized information on college affordability to prospective students and families.
  • Integrating High-Value Non-Degree Credentials: Several of the state’s nonprofits and postsecondary institutions are developing approaches to integrate non-degree credentials into the higher education system, piloting programs in Western Massachusetts that connect K-12 schools, colleges, and community organizations.
  • Enhancing Cooperative Education (Co-ops) in Public Colleges: University of Massachusetts Lowell is expanding how technology and practice innovations can accelerate work-based learning and co-ops growth, matching students with employers across campuses and industries to expand access to real-world work experience.

Path to Scale and Impact

Massachusetts is setting a national example for how state agencies can bridge institutional gaps, scale innovation, and drive lasting change. These efforts will expand access to quality education and strengthen the state’s workforce by connecting employers with skilled local graduates.

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"'Providing innovative and life-changing opportunities to more students across Massachusetts cannot wait,' said Commissioner of Higher Education Noe Ortega."

— Burns, H. (2025, March 28). State Department of Higher Ed Lands $2M for ‘Innovation,’ Including Student Co-op Programs, Boston Globe.

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University of Michigan

Enable

One Approach for All to Bolster Student Success and Momentum

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University of Michigan

One Approach for All to Bolster Student Success and Momentum

Enable

Student Pathways and Online Supports

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At a Glance

  • 2 four-year public universities

The Opportunity

The University of Michigan offers a compelling model of aligning cross-campus partnerships, institutional resources, and technology to support academic momentum, increase retention, and boost career readiness among students of different backgrounds and needs.

The Innovation

To increase academic momentum, retention, and career readiness, partners at the University of Michigan’s Center for Academic Innovation are creating a Student Success & Momentum Toolkit that leverages innovative university technology, resources, and industry-partner-sourced content as an intervention to drive student success across the state. This toolkit draws on proven technologies that help students in academic planning and provides tailored support for student success, along with resources and courses available through the university’s Michigan Online learning platform. The goal is to implement the full toolkit at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, while also expanding Michigan Online’s offerings to the University of Michigan-Flint to lay the groundwork for broader extension of practices, resources, and findings to public institutions across the state. By incorporating varied needs and feedback into the rollout, this approach increases its relevance across systems, fosters collaboration, and builds important relationships to help spread this work across systems and the state.

Path to Scale and Impact

This work aligns with the state of Michigan’s Sixty by 30 initiative, which seeks to raise the percentage of working-age adults in the state with a skill certificate or college degree from 51% to 60% by 2030.

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“Together we have the power to open doors to educational success and economic mobility, reduce the number of students who stop out, inspire millions of students to believe in a better future for themselves and transform higher education for future generations.”

— DeVaney, J., Khurana, S. & Remski, J. (2024, December 10). Moving Toward a Sustainable Academic Innovation, Inside Higher Ed.

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University Innovation Alliance

Engage

Collaborating with Faculty to Accelerate Innovation and Transform Learning

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University Innovation Alliance

Collaborating with Faculty to Accelerate Innovation and Transform Learning

Engage

Early Academic Progress

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At a Glance

  • 13 four-year public universities

The Opportunity

Innovation in higher education does not fail because we lack good ideas—it fails because we lack systems to scale them. Faculty often develop powerful, evidence-based practices, but without shared infrastructure or peer support, these innovations remain stuck in single classrooms. Nowhere is this more consequential than in first-year science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) courses, where tens of thousands of students—especially those from low-income backgrounds—face the greatest risk of falling behind. These gateway courses can either be launchpads or roadblocks. Empowering faculty to rethink how they teach these courses is one of the highest-leverage strategies available to accelerate student progress, close outcome gaps, and expand opportunity at scale.

The Innovation

The University Innovation Alliance (UIA) is piloting a scalable, faculty-driven model for redesigning foundational courses across 13 diverse public universities—ranging in size, governance, labor models, and geography. Through the Learning Innovations Project, faculty have co-designed and launched 24 redesigned STEM courses, directly impacting over 5,000 first-year students and laying the foundation to reach tens of thousands more. These are not a series of isolated experiments—they are shared, tested innovations designed for adaptation and scale.

Path to Scale and Impact

With support from this investment, the UIA has created a suite of tools and communities that enable institutions to advance classroom innovation beyond the pilot stage. This includes:

  • A Learning Innovation Inventory to surface and share promising practices;
  • A Classroom Innovation Evaluation Tool to measure and refine teaching approaches; and
  • A National Faculty Learning Community to foster peer coaching, collaboration, and sustained engagement.

Together, these assets have helped campuses accelerate adoption of effective teaching strategies through structured implementation sprints, shared frameworks, and communities of practice. This initiative has also surfaced systemic barriers—highlighting the cultural and policy challenges that faculty face when trying to innovate. Critically, it revealed the need to equip department chairs and deans with the skills and training to act as enablers of innovation and institutional change. This work demonstrates what is possible when faculty are empowered to lead innovation—and when institutions invest in the infrastructure to help their ideas scale.

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By The Numbers

  • 24 foundational STEM courses co-designed and launched, with plans for scale
  • 5,000+ first-year students impacted in initial implementation
  • 23 Faculty Fellows engaged across 12 public institutions
  • 79% average monthly convening attendance—evidence of sustained faculty engagement
  • 40% of faculty have volunteered for innovation work
  • 100% of participating faculty committed to future innovation efforts

Participating campuses: Arizona State University, Iowa State University, Michigan State University, North Carolina A&T State University, Purdue University, University at Buffalo, University of California Riverside, University of Colorado Denver, University of Illinois Chicago, University of Maryland Baltimore County, University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of New Mexico, and University of Utah

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CredLens

Excel

Bridging the Data Gap for Non-Degree Credentials

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CredLens

Bridging the Data Gap for Non-Degree Credentials

Excel

Credentials of Value/Labor Market Analytics

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The Opportunity

Though two- and four-year degrees remain valuable investments, the demand for non-degree credentials, including certifications and licenses, is growing at four times the rate of traditional degrees. Despite strong demand, reliable data on employment and earnings outcomes for learners with nondegree credentials is scarce. This leaves learners, employers, and policymakers unaware of deeply needed information on outcomes, training effectiveness, and quality.

The Innovation

Launched in 2024, CredLens is a national data trust for non-degree credentials. It collects verified credential data from training providers and issuers and then links it with employment, education, and demographic data from various sources. Unlike self-reported survey data, CredLens delivers comprehensive verified insights, answering key questions:

  • What jobs do learners secure after earning specific credentials?
  • How do earnings change post-credential attainment?
  • How quickly do credential holders find employment?
  • Which credentials stack together for better outcomes?

By addressing critical data gaps, CredLens empowers stakeholders to make informed decisions, improve credential programs, and enhance career paths.

Path to Scale and Impact

CredLens has the potential to transform the credential landscape and help more learners navigate non-degree pathways by creating transparency in a fragmented market and a standard for outcomes insights data. To date, there are more than 2 million verified credential records in the CredLens National Data Trust, addressing more than 150 individual credentials across technology, skilled trades, and healthcare.3

By The Numbers

  • More than 40% of working-age Americans or 80 million+ individuals report having completed a non-degree program or having earned a non-degree credential.
  • There are more than 750,000+ unique non-degree credentials available and growing.4,5
  • Demand for non-degree credentials is growing at four times the rate of demand for degrees.6

3 CredLens. (2025, July 31). Unpublished internal dataset.
4 Hanson, A. (2021, July 28). Examining the Value of Nondegree Credentials. Strada Education Foundation.
5 Harvard Project on Workforce. (n.d.). Workforce Almanac. Harvard Kennedy School.
6 Education Intelligence Unit. (2023, May 18). The Future of Post-Secondary Education in the U.S. HolonIQ.

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State University of New York

Enable

Leveraging Data for Student Success: Scaling ASAP|ACE at SUNY

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State University of New York

Leveraging Data for Student Success: Scaling ASAP|ACE at SUNY

Enable

Student Data and Supports

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At a Glance

  • 34 SUNY system colleges and universities

The Opportunity

Evidence-based holistic solutions to support students in navigating and persisting in their educational journeys exist, but too often the lack of integrated systems and dynamic data to support quality advising and program replication across the country hinder those solutions. Investing in programs that work by adding technology to bolster real-time access to actionable data allows for smarter advising, quicker intervention, and continuous program improvement.

The Innovation

ASAP (Advancing Success in Associate Pathways)|ACE (Advancing Completion through Engagement) is a proven model for improving student success through a holistic advising program that provides academic, personal, and financial support to students in both two- and four-year degree programs. Originally developed at the City University of New York, the program has demonstrated strong results and shown promising scalability through replication in states like Ohio and early adoption in other states, such as North Carolina and Colorado. As the largest comprehensive system of public higher education in the U.S., the State University of New York (SUNY) is committed to expanding ASAP|ACE across its 64 campuses.

Just one year after launching its ASAP|ACE replication, SUNY has already enrolled 4,270 students across 25 of its campuses—12 campuses not only met their enrollment targets but also had waitlists, underscoring the need for continued expansion. This early momentum demonstrates both the demand for the program and its effectiveness in addressing student needs. In a quasi-experimental study, the Rockefeller Institute of Government and SUNY found that ASAP|ACE students attempt more credits, complete more credits, and are retained at higher rates—all indicators of momentum that lead to higher completion rates.7

Path to Scale and Impact

In its newest budget, New York approved $12 million to sustain and expand the ASAP|ACE program to reach 6,000 students next year on the path to reach 10,000 students within the next two years. This investment signals a strong state-level commitment to scaling proven student success initiatives.

7 State University of New York. (2024, October 22). ASAP|ACE Meets Enrollment Targets, SUNY News.

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Education Design Lab and Harvard Project on Workforce

Excel

Innovating Workforce Education: A Model for Industry-Aligned Micropathways

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Education Design Lab & Harvard Project on Workforce

Innovating Workforce Education: A Model for Industry-Aligned Micropathways

Excel

Credentials of Value/Labor Market Analytics

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At a Glance

  • 4 community colleges

The Opportunity

Community colleges play a key role in economic mobility and workforce development, serving as talent pipelines for regional industries. However, institutions often struggle to build strong school-employer connections. Research shows that partnerships with industry and the use of real-time labor market information can boost wages, employment, and productivity. Yet, many community colleges face barriers to accessing and effectively using labor market information. As technologies like generative artificial intelligence reshape the job market, community colleges must stay agile to better align programs with evolving employer needs and improve student outcomes.

The Innovation

The partnership between the Harvard Project on Workforce and the Education Design Lab aims to strengthen how community colleges and state systems use labor market data and emerging technologies to boost student economic mobility. In fall 2024, Harvard Project on Workforce graduate fellows assessed labor market information use at participating colleges, producing case studies on effective practices and challenges. With the Education Design Lab’s guidance, the fellows also supported the development of strategic initiatives to enhance educational pathways, which the Education Design Lab is now helping stakeholders begin to implement.

In February 2025, Harvard Project on Workforce and Education Design Lab released a playbook Data and Technology in Action: Community Colleges Advancing Economic Mobility featuring specific case studies that uncovered key insights:

  • Labor market information and student outcomes data are essential for strategic resource allocation.
  • Real-time labor market information is valuable but has limitations—strong industry partnerships are critical to translate into deeper engagement.
  • Leveraging data and technology effectively requires institutional investments in capacity and culture.
  • Colleges are working to standardize and streamline processes and overcome historical departmental divides.
  • State policies and funding play a key role in advancing data-driven practices.

Education Design Lab is now beginning intensive work with four community colleges to design strategies and micropathways that address the opportunities uncovered through the case studies.

Path to Scale and Impact

Education Design Lab designed each micopathway to be scalable and repeatable, enabling colleges to respond to evolving workforce needs. Education Design Lab is also creating a streamlined process to ease the development of industry-aligned programs. Insights from the partnership’s research and case studies will guide future policy and institutional strategies and support leaders and policymakers in shaping effective investments.

By The Numbers

Potential Number of Students to Benefit from the Partnership:

  • Community College of Aurora, Colorado: 8,684
  • Hudson County Community College, New Jersey: 7,229
  • Riverland Community College, Minnesota: 3,591
  • South Texas College, Texas: 26,440

Source: Unduplicated Undergraduate Enrollment. (Fall 2023). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS).

Student-Centered AI

Supporting Institutions & Strengthening Human Connections with AI

Since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, generative artificial intelligence (AI) has been the major theme in digital education. Like every breakthrough technology, generative AI presents exciting new opportunities for education, but it could also exacerbate existing challenges if we do not make sure that it is useful and accessible to broad-access institutions and their students. That is why Axim is making significant investments in partnerships with these institutions—supporting new tool development, building institutional and faculty capacity, and preparing students for the evolving job market.

While enthusiasm for AI is strong and the pace of innovation remains high, it will take time to translate into new solutions, especially for the broad-access institutions that are resource constrained and often not the primary customer for large technology companies.

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In over 50% of our 30 partnerships, AI is the central feature driving impact. We expect that number to continue growing as both existing and new partnerships explore ways that generative AI can amplify their work.

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We hosted two AI & Education convenings (2023, 2024) with over 250 participants. In addition, we are fostering a growing community of innovators, educators, and institutional leaders. We are building awareness and forming new alliances to shape the evolution of this technology.

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More than 600 teams submitted proposals for innovative new solutions to the most recent rounds of the postsecondary track of the Tools Competition. Through this partnership, Axim has been able to mobilize almost $5M in funding to spur innovation in broad-access higher education.

Not if, but When and How

Institutions are no longer asking “if” but rather “when” and “how” to integrate AI; yet, many unknowns remain as faculty members and students navigate the best way forward. For instance, outsourcing cognitive tasks to an AI tool might accelerate academic progress but hinder students’ development of essential skills. Replacing human mentors with AI could help institutions reach more students but limit interpersonal learning opportunities to develop the human relationships that are crucial for finding employment.

The AI Opportunity
There is deep expertise and a high level of ingenuity within the education ecosystem—where administrators, faculty, staff, and students are developing creative use cases for AI. When broad-access institutions have a seat at the table and resources to innovate, AI can become a powerful tool to drive better student outcomes. Axim remains committed to augmenting the human element of learning and increasing access to AI solutions that serve the needs of these institutions and their students.

Emerging Themes

Bridget Terry Long (Harvard), Cynthia Breazeal (MIT), and Sal Khan (Khan Academy) at AI & Education Convening, 2023.

Our Partnerships

Working Across America

Axim Collaborative forges partnerships with institutions, social entrepreneurs, and visionary leaders across education, technology, and the nonprofit sector to refine and scale innovative solutions that remove systemic barriers and improve student outcomes along the entire education-to-career pipeline.

  • ASU – Local & Southwestern Community College District

    Focus Area:
    Education and Career Pathway Connections

    Driver of Innovation:
    Practice

    Project Summary:
    Creating four-year degree pathways for community college learners by blending online courses with in-person support

  • Complete College America & Riipen

    Focus Area:
    Education and Career Pathway Connections

    Driver of Innovation:
    Technology

    Project Summary:
    Partnering with community colleges to integrate employer-informed AI projects in curricula; partnering universities include:

    • The City University of New York
    • Atlanta Metropolitan State College
    • City Colleges of Chicago
    • Cuyahoga Community College
    • Pikes Peak State College

  • Carnegie Mellon University Open Learning Initiative, College of the Canyons, The State University of New York Open Educational Resources Services & UNCF

    Focus Area:
    Online/Hybrid Courseware and Pedagogy

    Driver of Innovation:
    Technology

    Project Summary:
    Co-designing generative AI training and course modules with 60-plus faculty across 56 institutions to improve student learning

  • Franklin Cummings Tech

    Focus Area:
    Student Data and Supports, Early Academic Progress

    Driver of Innovation:
    Technology and Practice

    Project Summary:
    Redesigning math courses to support credential attainment and integrating student data systems with comprehensive student success data

  • UNCF & Harvard University Office of the Vice Provost for Advances in Learning

    Focus Area:
    Online/Hybrid Courseware and Pedagogy

    Driver of Innovation:
    Technology

    Project Summary:
    Collaborating with HBCU faculty to build a digital learning platform for shared resources and best practices

  • Lorain County Community College Foundation

    Focus Area:
    High school outreach and supports

    Driver of Innovation:
    Data

    Project Summary:
    Developing and launching a comprehensive dashboard integrating data on students from high school through college graduation and beyond

  • Springfield Empowerment Zone, Tech Foundry, Springfield Technical College, Westfield State University & Holyoke Community College

    Focus Area:
    Credentials of Value/Labor Market Analytics

    Driver of Innovation:
    Data

    Project Summary:
    Launching exploratory pilots and research to evaluate how non-degree credentials of value can expand economic opportunity for diverse learners; support the state’s shift toward skills-based hiring; and inform policy, funding, and infrastructure needed to scale credential across Massachusetts

  • Massachusetts Alliance for Early College

    Focus Area:
    High School Outreach and Supports

    Driver of Innovation:
    Technology

    Project Summary:
    Improving decision-making among high school students by piloting targeted outreach and customized financial aid messaging, informed by stakeholder engagement and research, to reduce misperceptions about college affordability and expand access to higher education

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Georgia State University & Quinsigamond Community College

    Focus Area:
    Online/Hybrid Courseware and Pedagogy

    Driver of Innovation:
    Technology

    Project Summary:
    Collaborating with faculty leaders to develop an AI tutor for introductory computer science courses

  • Modern States

    Focus Area:
    High school outreach and supports

    Driver of Innovation:
    Technology

    Project Summary:
    Developing the strategy and networks to scale its online curriculum that prepares learners for the College Board’s College-Level Examination Program

  • Northern Essex Community College

    Focus Area:
    Education and Career Pathway Connections

    Driver of Innovation:
    Practice

    Project Summary:
    Collaborating with local manufacturers to improve the workforce readiness of students by creating a non-credit certificate program and career pathways

  • University Innovation Alliance

    Focus Area:
    Early Academic Progress

    Driver of Innovation:
    Practice

    Project Summary:
    Connecting institutions with innovative tools, resources, and professional development to improve student outcomes in gateway science, technology, engineering, and math courses; partnering universities include:

    • Arizona State University
    • Iowa State University
    • Michigan State University
    • North Carolina A&T State University
    • Purdue University
    • University at Buffalo
    • University of California Riverside
    • University of Colorado Denver
    • University of Illinois Chicago
    • University of Maryland Baltimore County
    • University of Massachusetts Amherst
    • University of New Mexico
    • University of Utah

  • Campus Evolve, University of Central Florida & Indiana Tech

    Focus Area:
    Student Data and Supports

    Driver of Innovation:
    Technology

    Project Summary:
    Establishing AI advising focused on student outreach and support to broaden access to postsecondary programs

  • DataKind

    Focus Area:
    Early Academic Progress

    Driver of Innovation:
    Data

    Project Summary:
    Using machine learning to determine the shortest path to credential for students at risk of stopping out without a degree

  • MDRC, State University of New York – Plattsburgh, Alfred State College & Monroe Community College

    Focus Area:
    Student Data and Supports

    Driver of Innovation:
    Practice

    Project Summary:
    Examining the impact of coaching on student learning and success in SUNY online programs

     

  • MentorPro & University of Massachusetts – Boston

    Focus Area:
    Student Data and Supports

    Driver of Innovation:
    Practice

    Project Summary:
    Implementing an AI-enhanced peer mentoring model to expand personalized support, boost student retention, and advance equity for first-generation and underserved students

  • Partnership for Education Advancement, Virginia State University

    Focus Area:
    Student Data and Supports

    Driver of Innovation:
    Technology

    Project Summary:
    Creating a centralized student-facing data platform to unify and streamline tools and support

  • Quill

    Focus Area:
    Online/Hybrid Courseware and Pedagogy

    Driver of Innovation:
    Technology

    Project Summary:
    Enhancing critical thinking through writing in first-year English courses at Baton Rouge Community College

  • ResearchEd

    Focus Area:
    Student Data and Supports

    Driver of Innovation:
    Data

    Project Summary:
    Aiding institutions in better use of existing data to drive student success

  • The State University of New York

    Focus Area:
    Student Data and Supports

    Driver of Innovation:
    Practice

    Project Summary:
    Developing an integrated dashboard for the ASAP|ACE program to improve data use across SUNY

  • University of Michigan Center for Academic Innovation & University of Michigan – Dearborn

    Focus Area:
    Student Data and Supports, Early Academic Progress

    Driver of Innovation:
    Technology and Practice

    Project Summary:
    Creating a Student Success & Momentum Toolkit to boost retention and graduation rates

  • Washington Student Achievement Council

    Focus Area:
    High school outreach and supports

    Driver of Innovation:
    Technology

    Project Summary:
    Expanding access to college and financial aid through OtterBot, a statewide student chatbot in Washington state

  • UNCF

    Focus Area:
    Online/Hybrid Courseware and Pedagogy

    Driver of Innovation:
    Technology

    Project Summary:
    Expanding access to education by enhancing online learning through the introduction of the HBCUv® Authentic Course Design Framework

  • CredLens

    Focus Area:
    Credentials of Value/Labor Market Analytics

    Driver of Innovation:
    Data

    Project Summary:
    Using credential data to generate actionable insights that promote economic mobility and strengthen workforce development

  • Harvard Project on Workforce, Education Design Lab & Community College Growth Engine

    Focus Area:
    Credentials of Value/Labor Market Analytics

    Driver of Innovation:
    Practice

    Project Summary:
    Researching ways community colleges can leverage labor market information and emerging technologies to improve student outcomes and economic mobility. Partners are collaborating with the following community colleges:

    • Community College of Aurora
    • Hudson County Community College
    • Riverland Community College
    • South Texas College

  • Ivy Tech Community College

    Focus Area:
    Education and Career Pathway Connections

    Driver of Innovation:
    Technology

    Project Summary:
    Creating a digital ecosystem that connects certification issuers, employers, and colleges with the goal of helping students stack credentials toward degrees and helping employers identify and fill talent gaps

  • University of Massachusetts – Lowell

    Focus Area:
    Education and Career Pathway Connections

    Driver of Innovation:
    Practice

    Project Summary:
    Exploring the expansion of co-op programs across public colleges to reduce graduate underemployment, strengthen employer connections, and assess the role of technology in scaling equitable access

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Open Learning

    Focus Area:
    Online/Hybrid Courseware and Pedagogy

    Driver of Innovation:
    Technology

    Project Summary:
    Using AI to generate voice and video learning content that is personalized to address specific knowledge gaps; partnering universities include:

    • Delgado Community College
    • Community College System of New Hampshire

  • Massachusetts Department of Higher Education & Massachusetts Board of Higher Education

    Focus Area:
    Innovation Hub

    Driver of Innovation:
    Practice

    Project Summary:
    Empowering transformative change in higher education by fostering collaboration, equity, and innovation to improve student outcomes across the state

  • The Learning Agency, Digital Harbor Foundation, University of Minnesota & Calbright College

    Focus Area:
    Learning technologies and tools

    Driver of Innovation:
    Technology

    Project Summary:
    Funding technologists who design and adapt products for education

    Winners from previous and current cycles of the Tools Competition are here.

     

  • Braven

    Focus Area:
    Student Data and Supports

    Driver of Innovation:
    Practice

    Project Summary:
    Expanding their higher education and corporate partnerships to provide an accelerator course, career readiness, and leadership development for college students

Axim’s mission is to make learning more accessible, more relevant, and more effective for all learners to drive strong student outcomes.

Our Work

Our Expanding Portfolio

total partnerships formed

A pie chart showing Axim's partern breakdown by programmatic area. It shows 37% of partners fall under "Engage," 37% fall under "Enable," 10% fall under "Excel," and 16% fall under "Cross-cutting."

Our Funding Bands:

  • Ecosystem: Partnerships primarily focused on scaling proven ideas while also developing the processes and capacity needed to sustain the strategy or innovation
  • Demonstration: Partnerships primarily focused on developing new capabilities or strategies to enhance student success
  • Spark: Partnerships primarily aimed at analyzing and exploring a specific concept
A pie chart showing Axim's partner breakdown by grant type funding band. It shows 10% of partners fall under "Ecosystem," 60% of partners fall under "Demonstration," and 30% fall under "Spark."

Axim’s Impact Model: Building Paths from Education to Workforce Success

Foster Innovative Partnerships
Axim Collaborative fosters partnerships with innovators in education, technology, and the nonprofit sector to develop and scale evidence-based practices that turn access into impact for millions of students. By supporting the visionary leaders in these partnerships—including students, faculty, administrators, entrepreneurs, employers, capacity-builders, and industry experts—we connect individuals and organizations that might not otherwise collaborate, opening new avenues for innovation.

Three people look at a laptop while working together on an engineering project with machinery parts.

Build Solutions and Learn Together
Once we launch a collaborative partnership, Axim pairs catalytic funding with a strong focus on capacity-building to support our partners in developing new solutions and learning from what does and does not work on the ground. Through communal spaces like convenings, workshops, and co-labs, we bring leaders together to refine, validate, and share their solutions with peers to expand opportunities and create measurable outcomes.

Scale Capacity
Next, Axim helps scale effective solutions through our partner institutions and networks that have extensive reach to the students who stand to benefit most. These solutions leverage technology, embed outcomes-focused metrics in practice, and further sustain innovation that in turn create platforms for lasting change.

Generate Outcomes
Through our model, Axim drives measurable student-level impact and inspires systems-level transformation. Each of our partnerships aims to meaningfully transform at least 10,000 students’ lives while demonstrating new models for education delivery. As our partnerships deepen and evolve, we will be on track to impact millions of students in finding and fulfilling their own unique paths to success.

Our Model for Change

Infographic showing the Axim impact model: Foster innovative partnerships that expand student impact potentional through collaborative parnters, evidence-based solutions, and visionary leaders. Build & learn together, enabled by providing catalytic funding, strengthening capacity, and fostering community and convenings. Scale impact and provide new paths to success by leveraging technology, applying data and analytics, and creating sustainable solutions. Generate positive outcomes including improving student-level impact, and driving sector-level transformation.

Our partnerships enable students to gain the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in college, trades, and the workforce.

Who We Are

Our History at a Glance

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May 2012

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Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology collaborated to launched edX, a platform offering massive open online courses with aspirations to provide quality online education to learners across the globe.

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November 2021

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edX was acquired by 2U, having reached 39 million individuals through more than 2,800 courses offered by nearly 200 partner universities. 2U now manages university partnerships and course offerings through www.edX.org.

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Axim Collaborative stewards the Open edX Project, an open-source platform and community that supports government, nonprofit, and enterprise organizations and has reached over 100 million learners to date. edX continues to use the Open edX platform.

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March 2023

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Axim Collaborative launches with a strategic focus to go beyond providing access to courses by deepening impact for students through collaborative partnerships, thus creating its new name.

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Axim appoints Stephanie Khurana as our chief executive officer.

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June 2023 - June 2025

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So far, Axim has formed 30 partnerships with over 50+ education leaders nationwide, providing $23.4 million in catalytic funding.

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Our partnerships are on track to potentially benefit tens of thousands and, eventually, millions of learners.

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Axim has hosted several cross-sector convenings at Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology focused on inclusive innovation and generative AI and has supported more than 10 partner-led convenings.

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Financial Summary

$M

Total funding for partnerships since 2023

A pie chart showing Axim's funding by partnership type. It shows 38% of funding totalling $9,000,000 has gone to "Ecosystems" partners, 50% of funding totalling $11,693,480 has gone to "Demonstration" partners, and 12% of funding totalling $2,708,200 has gone to "Spark" partnerships, for a total of $23,401,680.
A pie chart showinf Axim's funding by programmatic area. It shows that 24% of funding toalling $5,658,405 has gone to "Engage" programs, 34% of funding totalling $7,852,000 has gone to "Enable" programming, 20% of funding totalling $4,691,275 has gone to "Excel" programs, and 22% of funding totalling $5,200,000 has gone to "Cross-cutting" programs, totalling $23,401,680.

At Axim, we believe in the power of education to change lives. Creating paths to success with bold new ideas to transform our education to work sectors will amplify opportunities for all learners—and for their families and communities for decades to come.

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