WGU Labs, InScribe Partner to Create Community among Prospective Online Students

SALT LAKE CITY, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- WGU Labs, Inc., an affiliate of online nonprofit Western Governors University (WGU), has announced a research and market development agreement with Denver-based InScribe Education. The InScribe platform leverages the power of people and communities, as well as artificial intelligence, to connect learners with answers, resources, and individuals they need to succeed in their postsecondary journeys.

While InScribe strives to improve every stage of the student learning lifecycle, WGU Labs will research the platform's impact on WGU's enrollment process, outcomes, and student experience. Engendering a sense of belonging early in a prospective student's enrollment experience is critical to that student's matriculation. And, while chatbots and static Q&A webpages can offer standardized responses to prospective students' basic questions, they cannot replace the confidence-inspiring, community-building results of human-to-human interaction, even when that interaction is online. InScribe aims to provide that level of engagement, at scale, through community-powered support and artificial intelligence.

"We all seek meaningful, relevant human connections in so many aspects of life, including learning," said WGU Labs Managing Director Todd Bloom. "Learning is an investment in many senses of the word. Therefore, opportunities to connect with others going through a similar life experience are so important to one's successful outcomes, whether related to educational access, progress, and/or completion."

"We value the expertise of the WGU Labs team and their commitment to supporting solutions that make a measurable and meaningful difference for postsecondary students," said InScribe Co-Founder and CEO Katy Kappler. "Like WGU, we're committed to providing an experience that meets the needs of today's student—one that is highly flexible, always available, and tailored to each learner's specific needs and challenges."

Postsecondary institutions are increasingly focused on boosting access and improving retention and completion rates. InScribe's peer-to-peer, community-based approach allows schools to tackle this issue by offering scalable support for students. Institutions can increase student engagement and improve outcomes, all while decreasing the cost of support.

Kappler and her team's philosophy is centered around the belief that education is not a "solo sport." Through their partnership with WGU Labs, InScribe will continue to demonstrate its community-building capabilities and its importance to postsecondary access and student success.

About WGU Labs
WGU Labs is a nonprofit that is an affiliate of WGU. WGU Labs primarily provides research, services, inventions, and builds, and secondarily provides investments in strategically aligned innovative learning solutions that improve quality and advance educational outcomes for learners everywhere. Building on social psychology, learning science, and industry trends, WGU Labs accelerates education startups and develops its own research-supported, scalable products. Learn more about WGU Labs at https://wgulabs.org/.

About InScribe
InScribe is a digital student support platform that leverages the power of community and artificial intelligence to connect students with the answers, resources, and individuals they need to succeed. InScribe's digital communities cut across the traditional support silos in higher education, giving students a single place to turn when they need help—no matter the topic or time of day. Students benefit from on-demand, peer-to-peer, and student-to-expert collaboration that helps them feel more connected and increases student engagement, satisfaction, and retention. Learn more about InScribe at https://www.inscribeapp.com/.

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Contact for media inquiries:
Matt Griffin, WGU Communications
(615) 472-6055
Matt.griffin@wgu.edu 

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SOURCE WGU Labs