Newsroom Archives - ASU Universal Learner Courses

Newsroom

Students taking ASU Universal Learner Courses at Maricopa County’s Durango Juvenile Detention Center

College credit that starts without a transcript or an application

ASU Universal Learner Courses let anyone start a college course without an application, a transcript or a GPA. A partnership in Maricopa County’s Durango Juvenile Detention Center shows what that opens up.

A father and son walking outdoors during college move-in day on a bright, sunny afternoon.

Empty Nest Syndrome: Why it hurts and 5 ways to find your next chapter

Your last child moved out, and the house has gone quiet. Friends keep telling you to enjoy the freedom. So why does it feel like a loss? This guide explains what empty nest syndrome is, how long it tends to last and what helps.

A young man with dark, curly hair wearing a black Arizona State University t-shirt looking down at a open laptop screen in a room with posters on the wall.

Is college algebra hard? What to expect in MAT 117

MAT 117 is an online college algebra course open to anyone, with no application and no admission decision required. You start for $25, see your grade, then decide whether to pay for the credit. Here is what the course covers, how it is graded and what makes it easier to pass.

A presenter at Arizona State University standing at a podium in front of an audience, pointing to a slide displaying three stacked bar charts.

What is statistics? A beginner’s guide to sampling and data

Statistics is the skill that lets you judge whether a data-based claim is trustworthy instead of taking it on faith. Here are the first ideas that make that possible: where data comes from, how sampling works and why it decides whether numbers can be trusted.

Want to work in conservation? These four ASU courses are where it starts

If you’ve ever thought about a career protecting oceans, restoring ecosystems or leading conservation policy, there’s never been a cleaner way to find out if it’s actually for you.

Aerial top-down view of a dense, vibrant green forest meeting a deep blue water, with a winding shoreline of light green aquatic vegetation and clear, shallow water.

How does remote sensing work? Reading a changing planet from space

Remote sensing is how scientists study a place without touching it, using satellites and aircraft to turn light into data. Here’s how it works, from wildfires to forests to reefs, shown through one of its boldest uses: mapping every shallow coral reef on the planet.

An aerial, wide-angle shot of a wide, dark blue river winding through a dense, vibrant green rainforest. Small, isolated clusters of green trees and partially submerged vegetation sprout directly out of the water along the river's path, creating tiny islands. The thick, unbroken canopy of the forest stretches out to the horizons on both sides of the riverbanks.

What is conservation? Definition, types and why it matters

Picture a community and the wild animals that share its land, both depending on the same water, soil and seasons. Holding that balance is the heart of conservation.

A group of people wearing ASU-branded shirts and casual attire gather and smile together at an outdoor campus patio event.

Being the change starts with who you think you are

Equal intelligence, opposite outcomes: identity is what decides. Three ideas about who you are from Being the Change, ASU’s changemaking course on purpose and growth.

A classroom scene featuring a male teacher with a short beard and a lanyard around his neck, leaning in to assist a female student sitting in the foreground. The female student wears glasses and a maroon top, smiling joyfully with raised hands near her sticker-covered laptop. In the background, another male student in a black Arizona State University t-shirt sits at a desk typing on his own laptop.

How to use a 529 plan to earn college credit in high school

A 2025 US federal law widened what a 529 plan can pay for, and for families who have one, that money may stretch further while a student is still in high school. Here is how it can work with ASU Universal Learner Courses.

A researcher wearing a white Arizona State University (ASU) t-shirt and gloves crouches on the deck of a boat at sea, collecting water samples from a large oceanographic sampling rosette (CTD instrument). The researcher is smiling as they adjust a valve on one of the grey sampling cylinders. The background shows the bright, blue open ocean under a clear sky.

Understanding sustainability and how to build a career in it

Botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer writes that naming a plant is only the beginning. Understanding its relationships to pollinators, ecosystems and people is where deeper knowledge begins. SOS 100: Introduction to Sustainability at Arizona State University helps you build a systems-level understanding while opening a flexible path toward college credit and a career.