WGU Labs

About us

We build solutions to the real problems in higher education
Looking across the lawn at an all-glass, two story university building

Designing innovation in education

The biggest challenges in education need effective and scalable solutions. From removing barriers, to access for students from under-resourced communities, to streamlining the learn-work-learn cycle, stakeholders in higher education and workforce development need ways to redesign the current learning experience. The challenges are complex, sometimes contradictory, and ever-evolving. They are education’s wicked problems.

How WGU Labs can help

As the innovation arm of Western Governors University — an institution that reimagined the traditional university 25 years ago — we are driving practical ideas to action by remaining close to the student experience. We intentionally work in early-stage innovation because that’s where we believe we can have the most influence. Our work addresses core challenges in education by examining, building, and enabling innovative solutions.


We use our unique position as an organization that is both part of and separate from higher education to drive systemic change. WGU Labs works with higher education leaders, faculty, students, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and other stakeholders to push bold, learner-centered ideas. Then we investigate, test, and refine those concepts into workable solutions that support learner outcomes and advance equitable access.

Let's design better education experiences

At WGU Labs our work stands on four multidisciplinary pillars.

Examine

Transforming learning begins with careful analysis. We use rigorous methods to analyze policy, systems, and education technology solutions to identify what works and why.

Build

Better products will close equity gaps and improve learner outcomes. We build high-quality, learner-centered technologies and instructional content based on learning science and design.

Connect

The best solutions are born out of collaboration. We build connections between entrepreneurs, higher education leaders, and workforce stakeholders that bolster the education marketplace.

Grow

We invest in pre-seed and seed stage EdTech companies to support scalable solutions that have an equitable impact on learner outcomes.

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What we're solving

In the first 25 years, WGU reinvented the institution of higher education and created a totally unique model. In the next 25 years, we endeavor to recreate the system. WGU Labs is part of WGU's strategy to re-invigorate the promise of education for not only students at WGU but everyone across the sector.

Removing barriers to access

Entry points to higher education unnecessarily limit access for individuals who do not match the historic student profile. We remove barriers to access for students who are furthest from opportunity and increase cost transparency to alleviate financial burdens.

Redesigning the current learning experience

High-quality education is not well-defined, varies widely, and fails to harness what is known about the science of learning. We redesign the current learning experience to better diversify instruction and adopt updated learning principles.

Strengthening the learn-to-work cycle

The transition from learning to work is often opaque to students and employers. We build systems of lifelong learning that support successful careers.

WGU's 10x vision

At WGU, our mission is to change lives for the better by creating pathways to opportunity. Making opportunity available for everyone requires a collective, comprehensive effort, and improving the quality, accessibility, and outcomes of higher education compels all of us to do more. While we have long endeavored to reinvent the institution of higher ed, we also believe in enabling and advancing innovation that will help transform the system of higher education, and reinvigorate the promise of education as the surest path to opportunity...for everyone.



Our expanded vision has WGU—the university—at its core, not only delivering results for our students, but also providing the primary, data-driven proving ground for ideas and strategies to continually reinvent education and increase outcomes. To this core, we have added a collaborative research vehicle and investment flexibility to extend WGU’s engagement across the sector. Combined, this creates for us a foundation for enabling the incubation, launch, and scaling of new endeavors that hold the promise of removing barriers to access, and improving quality and outcomes throughout the education-to-opportunity lifecycle.

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WGU Labs

Who we are

We build solutions to the real problems in higher education
Looking across the lawn at an all-glass, two story university building
What we do

Driving equitable, evidence-based change

The biggest challenges in education need effective and scalable solutions. From removing barriers, to access for students from under-resourced communities, to streamlining the team-work-learn cycle, stakeholders in higher education and workforce development need ways to redesign the current learning experience. The challenges are complex, sometimes contradictory, and ever-evolving.

Our Mission

For the past 25 years, WGU has redefined what it means to deliver high-quality, affordable, and accessible higher education. Now, through WGU Labs, we’re expanding that innovation beyond our own institution—working to reimagine the entire postsecondary system to better serve all learners.

We exist to expand access, quality, and outcomes in postsecondary education and career pathways for Stranded and Rising Talent — individuals with the skills, experience, and potential to succeed, but who face barriers that limit their educational and career advancement. These learners need targeted support to reconnect with opportunities that enable meaningful, upward mobility.

WGU Labs develops practical, scalable solutions to unlock that potential and support through rigorous research, human-centered design, and field implementation.

Let’s design better education experiences

How We Do It

WGU Labs bridges research, innovation, and action to advance equity and student success across the postsecondary and workforce landscape.

Examine

We conduct research and policy analysis to identify what works, and why, across learning and workforce systems.

Build

We design and test learning tools, programs, and models grounded in evidence and learning science.

Connect

We collaborate with higher education institutions, workforce partners, and EdTech innovators to pilot and scale what works.

Grow

We invest in early-stage ventures aligned with equity, access, and measurable impact.

These four pillars form our end-to-end innovation model—one that moves ideas from concept to proven, scalable solutions. By focusing intentionally on early-stage innovation, WGU Labs identifies promising approaches, tests them in real-world contexts, and refines them into strategies that drive systemic change.

Innovation in Action

WGU Labs has supported over 50 early-stage companies, co-developed scalable tools to improve student success, and incubated WGU Academy, which has helped thousands of returning learners re-engage with higher education.

Removing barriers to access

Entry points to higher education unnecessarily limit access for individuals who do not match the historic student profile. We remove barriers to access for students who are furthest from opportunity and increase cost transparency to alleviate financial burdens.

Redesigning the current learning experience

High-quality education is not well-defined, varies widely, and fails to harness what is known about the science of learning. We redesign the current learning experience to better diversify instruction and adopt updated learning principles.

Strengthening the learn-to-work cycle

The transition from learning to work is often opaque to students and employers. We build systems of lifelong learning that support successful careers.