Case Study: University of Akron graduates more students faster while cutting tuition costs with D2L Brightspace

Making high education affordable to all with new pilot program

The University of Akron, a public institution serving about 26,000 students, faced rising tuition and a mandate to graduate more students faster—particularly adult and non‑traditional learners—while reducing costs. To tackle this challenge and support regional workforce needs amid reduced state aid, UA partnered with D2L to explore alternative learning and tuition models.

UA launched the GenEd Core pilot on the Brightspace LMS, moving general education courses online with interactive content, competency‑style assessments and close progress tracking while charging $50 per credit (about an 86% tuition reduction). The program exceeded its two‑semester enrollment goal with 1,173 enrollments and produced actionable insights on implementation, barriers and predictors of student success for scaling affordable, accelerated degree pathways.

The University of Akron

Jodi Henderson-Ross

Assistant Professor of Instruction