2025 wasn’t just another year for higher education; it was the moment theory turned into reality. Institutions stopped planning for AI and started deploying it. Things broke. New tools emerged. And long-standing assumptions about how students learn, how credentials work, and who controls educational pathways began to crack.

In this episode of the Inside the Learning Experience Podcast, we dive deep into our 2025 End of Year Impact Report to examine how AI is being used to tackle higher education’s most persistent wicked problems.

What happens when students don’t get the help they need, despite institutions offering robust support services? In this episode of Inside the Learning Experience, WGU Labs researchers unpack what they’re learning from students as they design Stu, an AI-powered student support tool built to proactively connect learners with the right resources at the right time.

Betheny Gross is joined by senior research scientists Youngki Hong and Stephanie Reeves to explore why student support services are underutilized, how barriers like belonging, stigma, and awareness shape help-seeking behaviors, and where AI can and can’t step in. Drawing on large-scale surveys, interviews, and early user testing, the conversation highlights critical design insights, equity considerations, and open research questions around personalization, trust, and the role of AI in supporting motivation, belonging, and long-term student success.

What does it take to build an AI mentor—and what data should power it?

In this episode of Inside the Learning Experience, WGU Labs explores how AI can support students by scaling mentoring, personalizing guidance, and connecting learners to the right resources at the right time.

In this episode of Inside the Learning Experience, host Betheny Gross, director of research, and research coordinator Susie Chen explore how WGU Labs is reimagining student support through proactive, data-informed technology. STU is a first-of-its-kind student-facing AI assistant built to identify when students might be struggling and reach out before challenges escalate. From connecting learners to academic coaching and mental health resources to helping normalize help-seeking behaviors, STU is designed to make belonging structural, not accidental.

Listen in as we discuss how technology, empathy, and design can come together to create more equitable support systems that meet students where they are—before they even ask.

Mental health challenges are reshaping the student experience, but traditional counseling can’t reach everyone. In this episode of Inside the Learning Experience podcast, we discuss the findings in Beyond Counseling: Unlocking Student Belonging through Peer Connection, one of our latest reports, which provides an overview of the pilot with WGU and Flourish Labs that tested professional peer support as a scalable complement to clinical services.

Learn how peer supporters with shared lived experiences helped students build confidence, focus, and a stronger sense of belonging, and what higher ed leaders need to know about implementing these models effectively.

This podcast episode was made using Notebook LM.

In this episode of Inside the Learning Experience, host Omid Fotuhi, the former Director of Learning Innovation at WGU Labs, sits down with Katy Kappler, Co-founder and CEO of InScribe, to explore how digital communities are transforming online education.

Katy shares her journey from the early days of eCollege to founding InScribe, a platform designed to foster connection, belonging, and social capital among nontraditional and online learners. Together, they discuss why a sense of belonging is critical for student success, how AI can support (without replacing) human connection, and why the future of online education depends on designing for community.

🎧 Tune in to learn how intentional community-building can turn isolation into inclusion — and make online learning more human than ever before.

This episode highlights students' perceptions, usage, and expectations regarding AI in higher education, particularly within online learning environments. Data from WGU Labs’ survey of over 4600 students suggests that respondents are largely optimistic about AI's potential for personalized learning, however, significant gender disparities in AI confidence and usage exist. The findings underscore the critical need for expanded AI literacy, ethical implementation, and student-centered design of AI tools in education. Access the published report here.

Inside the Learning Experience explores the future of education through conversations with experts in learning design, technology, and academic research, diving into the evolution of learning, the challenges students face, and how we can create more effective, equitable, and impactful educational experiences.

How can artificial intelligence transform the way we teach and learn? In this episode of Inside the Learning Experience, host Omid Fotuhi, Director of Learning Innovation at WGU Labs, sits down with Lita Simanga-Hooper, a seasoned educator and instructional design expert at Labs, to explore the fast-changing role of instruction in a world transformed by artificial intelligence. 👉 Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe for more insights on the future of education.