I created this discussion in order to inform other users about Cortana's removal in the Windows 10 Education Anniversary update and my support inquiries with Microsoft.
Let me say right off the bat that Cortana's removal in this edition of Windows was not advertised widely and if I had known about it 5 days before August 2nd, I could have wiped my system and taken advantage of the free upgrade. Why? Please see below.
I received Windows 10 Education from my college last year near the initial release date through onthehub. Back then, Windows 10 Education was also catering toward the home user college student audience. Now, Cortana has been removed from the new Anniversary update due to compliance with K-12 institutions. I am a senior in college and could care less about what elementary, middle, and high schools prefer.
On August 2nd, I spent over 2 hours on hold with Microsoft after work following my discovery of this webpage: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/edu/windows/windows-editions-for-education-customers?f=255&MSPPError=-2147217396
I figured that Microsoft could send me an equivalent Enterprise license to replace the Education one I have now. The Enterprise edition is exactly the same as the Education edition (feature-wise) except it has Cortana. It wouldn't be like I was gaining anything.
After being on hold for too long, I hung up the phone and contacted Microsoft support via the online chat and while the person I was chatting with said that this must be a "frustrating" issue, I have the wrong department. I realized that the department I had to deal with was closed for the night (I missed it by 20 minutes or so).
The next day, I spent hours on the phone with Microsoft's tech support and volume licensing service. The person I was chatting with said that Windows 10 Education "never had" (an exact quote) Cortana and even quoted the Windows 10 feature page to prove his point. I know that this claim was false, since I have Cortana now. I tried to explain that point and that the page must have been changed over the last few months. He said there's no way that could've been possible. He also said that upgrading to the 1607 build was "in the end, [my] choice." A question to the reader: would you like to stick with a soon to be unsupported build of Windows?
After several requests to speak to a supervisor, the supervisor also said that Windows 10 Education "never had" Cortana. He also said that I should speak to my college administrator to find out if my Windows supported Software Assurance. If it did, the college could upgrade me to Enterprise. I already knew that onthehub was not directly managed by my college and that they didn't offer any other version of Windows 10. A phone call to them confirmed this assumption.
Since I couldn't get a single license of Windows 10 Enterprise, the only other option available was to downgrade to Windows 10 Pro. The problem with that is I would have to pay the full price of $199.99. A question to the reader: would you feel obligated to pay full price for a Windows version that is less sophisticated than the one you already own? After negotiating with Microsoft, they would not give me a discount. They offered me a way to buy an upgrade license for Windows 10 Pro through the app store for $99.99, but unfortunately that is the only way of buying Windows for the Education edition that is blocked. See this page: https://technet.microsoft.com/itpro/windows/deploy/windows-10-edition-upgrades
So, if anyone wants to take a crack at finding some answers about the Education Anniversary update, here's some first-hand experience. I'm pretty sure that new features only appear in build number increases, not cumulative updates, so we may be waiting a year or more before Microsoft adds Cortana back into the Education edition. Even then, it may have limited functions. So, what has anyone else found out?