WGU Labs

📣 New research report! 📣 In higher education, much of the conversation around access, enrollment, and success centers on adults with some college but no degree. At WGU Labs, we wanted to understand a subset of that group — the 24 million working adults in low-wage, low-resilience jobs who lack the ability to access better opportunities. We believe that by understanding this population, we can build better educational systems for all learners from the ground up, ensuring all Americans can thrive in a rapidly changing economy. Over the past year, we’ve been analyzing longitudinal data to better understand the unique characteristics of this population, which we have named Rising Talent. We define Rising Talent as working adults with limited postsecondary education and low career resiliency. Today, we’re thrilled to unveil our research on this group with a new report. An accompanying brief details our perspective on why supporting Rising Talent are so important for postsecondary education and the workforce. By unlocking Rising Talent’s hidden potential, we can help millions of individuals advance into better-paying, more fulfilling careers and fuel economic growth. Because of the circumstances in which this population exists — unstable work, challenging home responsibilities, poor health, and an often negative relationship with the educational system — this underutilized talent pool requires us to think differently to help them acquire the skills needed to seize new opportunities. We can’t rely on existing solutions to serve them; we have to rethink career pathways and education systems. And doing so requires a concerted effort from policymakers, educational institutions, employers, and technology providers to create an inclusive and supportive environment for Rising Talent. Stay tuned for our ongoing work with Rising Talent, and read the brief and full report now: https://lnkd.in/dbHjAw_P

I'm excited to share that I've started a new role as Director of New Venture Programs at WGU Labs at Western Governors University! This position brings together the Accelerator and Seed Fund while supporting internal ventures, and I'm grateful to be working alongside an exceptional team: Jason Levin, Natalie Berkey, Omid Fotuhi, Betheny Gross, Kristyn Sharma (Holmes), MBA, PMP, Mikell Mednick, Jessica Cornell, MBA, Ramah Jihan Malebranche, Jay Bozman, Drew Ceccato, PhD, Jeremy Hodgson, MBA, MSDA, Anudhi Munasinghe, PhD, Amy Jo Yates, and Agueda Mija Chavez. I’m looking forward to working with our impressive portfolio of investments, including GeniusAcademy - Online Training Solution, Doowii, Inc, Divergent Software Labs Pvt. Ltd., Making Space, Julius, SparkLearn, Savi, Nucleos, Clusiv,CareerDash, Flourish Labs, Unmudl Skills-to-Jobs Marketplace, Concourse, Protopia, GreenFig, Lloyd, Argos, Boost, Gocoach, Funding U, Riff Analytics, Perceptive, eLumin, RedFlag, Student Opportunity Center, InScribe, MajorClarity by Paper, and Beam, among many others we are planning on funding. I’ll be actively looking for startups to fund, companies to partner with, and innovative ideas from you to help make education more accessible and impactful. AI is central to this vision, and WGU is committed to building an AI-centric university to shape the future of learning. If you're passionate about innovation in education, let’s connect!

Post-secondary education can provide beneficial opportunities for working adults with limited education and low-paying jobs. Federal data and other studies show higher education levels often correlate with higher wages. However, the trajectories of people’s lives are influenced by many factors. To better serve individuals who may benefit from post-secondary education, institutions need to understand the influence of personal, educational, social, economic, and professional circumstances. At WGU Labs, we recently studied the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97) to establish a clearer understanding of the life trajectories of a population of people who hold jobs with little professional growth opportunity and who have limited post-secondary education — a cohort that we call Rising Talent. By tracing the experiences of Rising Talent and those who deviate from that path, we learned that by mid-life, these individuals often face circumstances set in motion decades earlier. Understanding the diverse circumstances of prospective and current learners can guide institutional leaders in making informed decisions that provide the necessary support to ensure the success of all learners. Learn more in our latest blog: https://lnkd.in/gB3e_JYD

What an incredible milestone Western Governors University has reached this month: our 400,000th degree awarded. These degrees aren’t just a number—they represent countless lives with broadened opportunities, creating positive change in families, workplaces, and society. The ripple effect of higher education is real, as illustrated by Gallup’s WGU 25 Year Anniversary Impact Report: ✅ WGU grads saved $1 billion in tuition compared to what they would have paid for traditional degrees between 2004-2020. ✅ In 2021, WGU grads added $8 billion more to the U.S. economy than if they had not earned their degree. ✅ Additionally, in the 2023 WGU Gallup Alumni Survey, more than twice as many WGU grads (73%), when compared to graduates of other universities (34%), said their education was worth the cost. Reaching this milestone is a profound reminder of what’s possible when we put students at the center of everything we do. Higher education, when truly accessible and tailored to individual needs, becomes a powerful force for life-changing impact—unlocking opportunities that extend well beyond each graduate and into the lives they touch. A heartfelt thank you to our WGU faculty and staff for making this possible. #HigherEducation #EducationForAll #Impact #WGUProud

In the first nine months of 2024, 28 degree-granting institutions closed, compared with 15 in all of 2023. Colleges are now closing at a rate of one per week, reports The Hechinger Report: https://lnkd.in/g8MNjBKQ For comparison, an average of seven colleges and universities shut down each year from 2008 to 2011 in the wake of the financial crisis. “It’s not corruption; it’s not financial misappropriation of funds; it’s just that they can’t rebound enrollment,” said Rachel Burns, a senior policy analyst at SHEEO (State Higher Education Executive Officers Association), who provided the closure data to The Hechinger Report. So what can colleges do to keep their doors open? It’s a question we explored in our latest white paper: https://lnkd.in/g-B72SUd There is a substantial market of working adults (45.7% without a degree) who need higher-paying, stable jobs, making them a prime enrollment audience for colleges. But colleges weren’t built to support working adults. To improve enrollment rates and avoid shuttering their doors, we believe colleges need to embrace competency-based education (CBE), which aligns better with workforce needs and provides a more personalized, flexible learning experience for adult learners.

In our latest [work in] Progress blog — an effort to share our preliminary findings and first-hand implementation insight on the impact of artificial intelligence in higher education — WGU Labs Lead Learning Experience Designer Lesley Reilly explores the use of custom GPTs to simulate authentic role-play scenarios. Custom GPTs are capable of simulating a variety of realistic scenarios, including those in classroom, healthcare, and business settings. This approach enables preservice teachers, healthcare professionals, and business students to engage with a broad spectrum of challenges they may face in their careers. At WGU Labs, we wanted to find out whether these scenarios could help learners practice handling diverse scenarios while developing a well-rounded skill set. This includes not only technical knowledge but also critical P21 or durable skills such as communication, empathy, ethical decision-making, and critical thinking. To achieve this, we created custom GPTs to help learners practice these skills in three specific areas: parent-teacher conferences, customer service, and instructional design. Read Lesley’s blog to discover our key insights: https://lnkd.in/gs298yVA 

“As generative AI tools like ChatGPT become increasingly popular in higher education, institutions must take decisive action to ensure that all students can effectively engage with these technologies.” Our latest Student EdTech survey revealed several barriers institutions must overcome to effectively and equitably integrate AI into the student experience. WGU Labs Senior Research Scientist Stephanie Reeves, PhD outlines four strategies institutions can use to address these barriers and create inclusive and effective AI-enhanced learning experiences for students. https://lnkd.in/gMcAjRmb

Over the past several months, @WGU Labs has been testing AI’s ability to transform the learning experience. While there’s still a lot of work to be done, I’m excited to share some of our initial findings.   @Lesley Reilly, a Lead Learning Experience Designer at Labs, built three custom GPTs to simulate realistic role-playing scenarios for formative assessments. The Parent/Teacher Conference Prep Buddy offers a safe environment for educators to practice their communication skills. The Customer Service GPT can help learners practice de-escalation techniques when dealing with irate customers. And the Universal Design Learning (UDL) in Action GPT provides pre-service teachers with practical experience applying UDL principles in diverse classroom scenarios.   Despite some challenges and limitations in current GPT implementations, we found these AI applications to be a great way to personalize and enhance the learning experience at scale.   Check out our latest blog for an in-depth look at our process, insights, and links to the activities for you to play with: https://lnkd.in/gzWrqsYH

Get to know Jeff Rubenstein, chief product officer at our Doowii, Inc, one of our newest Accelerator clients, in this EdTech mentor interview from 27zero. “Jeff opens up about his journey from the lecture halls of academia to the cutting-edge of educational technology. He reflects on the pivotal moments, from the early days of online learning to the game-changing developments in AI and data integration. Jeff’s story is one of continuous learning, unyielding curiosity, and a commitment to improving the educational experience for students and teachers alike.” https://lnkd.in/em8nPZAq

How do students use AI tools to support their learning? How does students’ use (or lack of use) of AI tools impact their learning experience? How effective is AI in supporting the achievement of student learning outcomes? To answer these questions, we provided free access to ChatGPT Team to a select group of students enrolled in the Introduction to Programming in Python course within Western Governors University’s School of Technology. Initial results from our pilot revealed that: 1️⃣ Students' use of AI is goal-directed and oriented toward learning 2️⃣ Students use AI as a reference, teacher, and coach 3️⃣ Anecdotally, students reported improved learning and experience with AI Contrary to widespread fears of cheating, some students appeared to self-regulate their use of AI when they felt the technology was impeding their learning. Despite his use of ChatGPT, one student noted, “Knowing the material actually is more important to me than being able to get the answer faster.” He suggested that if he used ChatGPT more, “I’m not really learning.” Another student detailed conversations with friends in the field who described the importance of demonstrating skills without using AI technology. Speaking generally about AI in the workplace, he further described his desire to leave “a personal touch” on his work, an opportunity to “let your skill shine.” Read more in WGU Labs Senior Learning Experience Designer Tadd Farmer, Ph.D.’s latest contribution to our [work in] Progress series — an effort to share our preliminary findings on the impact of artificial intelligence in higher education to help the field move at the pace of technology. https://lnkd.in/g6rgXCZJ