Mission
Setting the Record Straight
For over 15 years, 2U has been at the forefront of transforming online higher education, with a distinctive leadership position underpinned by our robust network of university partners, expansive global reach, and substantial resources. Our mission is to make high-quality education accessible to everyone—regardless of age, skill level, geography, prior education, or financial ability. Since our founding, we’ve grown from four to 260 partners offering over 4,500 programs ranging from free courses to master’s degrees. To date, our platform and solutions have empowered over 5.2 million learners to graduate or complete our partners’ programs, enriching lives and advancing careers across the globe.
This growth is no accident; it’s a testament to true product-market fit. We have built something that universities and learners not only want but also need. Our role enables our partners to do what they do best—educating students—while relying on us for technology and other services.
Today, we’re meeting a market need while also supporting a societal imperative. Technology advancements such as generative AI are rapidly shifting the labor force, creating widespread demand for upskilling and reskilling.
Despite this, 2U and others in our sector have encountered unfounded attacks from special interest groups seeking to harm our business and scare our partners and students. Currently, these groups are citing our efforts to manage our balance sheet challenges as a pretext to amplify their attacks.
These tactics ignore our steadfast commitment to creating positive student outcomes and overlook the significant benefits we deliver to our university partners and to their students globally. The high graduation and completion rates we see for our partners' programs are just one indication of the quality and impact of these offerings.
Critically, these groups' recent predictions, that 2U is on the verge of an imminent shutdown, are unequivocally false and represent a blatant attempt to confuse students and the public.
Here is the truth of the matter:
- We acknowledge that we need to improve our financial position and are actively working to address our capital structure to ensure our longevity and continued success.
- We are confident that our financial plan will enable us to negotiate more favorable terms with our financial stakeholders between now and the end of the year, resolving the going concern disclosure included in our Form 10-K.
- As part of these efforts, we are not considering any options that would cause 2U to cease operations or end programs for students currently enrolled in a program we support.
- As of our most recent earnings release in mid-February, we had cash of approximately $140 million to continue supporting our operations.
- Demand for our offerings remains strong. In 2023, we added 30 new partners and 500 new offerings, and we plan to launch 60-degree offerings with our partners in 2024—the largest number of degree offerings we’ve launched in a single year in our history.
Throughout our history, we have been dedicated to enabling our partners to provide relevant, affordable, and accessible offerings for students. As we take steps to improve our performance and right-size our balance sheet, we will continue to keep learners and partners at the center of our decisions. The importance of online education as a means to decrease costs and provide flexible upskilling opportunities has never been more apparent, and we intend to continue delivering on our mission well into the future.