WGU Labs on LinkedIn: Six ways to promote belonging among college students (2025)

College students are weary. Among the more disturbing trends to accelerate during and persist beyond the pandemic is the decline in student well-being. According to many studies, students have become more stressed and less socially engaged. However, researchers have identified a sense of belonging as a key protective factor against the stressors caused by the pandemic. This year, we surveyed 359 faculty members from six institutions to find out the faculty perspective on belonging in the classroom. Our data revealed four key takeaways:👭 87% of faculty believe it is important to ensure that all students feel like they belong at their institution🏫 75% of faculty received training on implementing inclusive practices in the classroom👩🏫 Women faculty are ten percentage points more likely than men to take steps to increase students’ belonging and tailor their instructional approaches for diverse learners💻 Faculty that reported most looking forward to a tech-enabled future for education were also most likely to value cultivating belonging in the learning environment.Find the full research brief on our site: https://lnkd.in/guzisMHn

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A small study at Harvard found that physics students using an AI tutor learned more in less time compared to traditional classroom instruction. The AI tutor was designed to engage students with brief, step-by-step problem-solving guidance, which helped improve their understanding of physics topics like surface tension and fluid flow. At WGU Labs, we’re particularly interested in AI’s potential to provide one-on-one support at scale, so it’s exciting to see that, when properly structured, AI tutors can enhance the learning experience by supplementing in-class activities. As The Hechinger Report’s Jill Barshay notes, it’s “the first scientific proof I’ve seen that ChatGPT can actually help students learn more.”However, the developers stress that AI should not replace human interaction but rather enrich the overall learning experience. It’s also worth noting that this was a small study of highly motivated students. https://lnkd.in/gRcXAhBb

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Attending EDTECH WEEK this year? Join us at the Navigating Career Pathways Shark Tank, where WGU Labs Executive Director Jason Levin will serve as one of the “Sharks.” Attendees will watch pitches from the top global CEOs creating the future of career navigation and gain an understanding of the current market and fundraising environment via an in-depth discussion with "Sharks" — prolific investors with a laser-focus in the problem space. edtechweek2024

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We’ve previously posted about the growing demand for AI skills in the workplace — and how colleges need to prepare students for the future of work. Now, that demand is resulting in stiff competition for talent with AI expertise in higher education, according to more than a dozen college provosts, vice presidents, directors, and deans who spoke with The Chronicle of Higher Education.“College leaders say there’s too much at stake not to build AI expertise into their teaching and research enterprises. On the research side, competitive grants are on the line, as are long-term aspirations for membership in the prestigious Association of American Universities, or an upgraded Carnegie research classification. Colleges recognize, too, that research across disciplines might fall behind without an infusion of AI experts. On the teaching side, filling classrooms with these experts can help cement one’s reputation as a college that can prepare students for a work force that’s rapidly embracing AI skills. It can help attract more learners. But the competition for that talent is stiff.”Learn how institutions are trying to win the race for AI talent: https://lnkd.in/e9nwZcrZ

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In our latest Faculty EdTech Survey, 41% of faculty reported burnout, which was correlated with high levels of technology fatigue. The more faculty agreed that technology made it difficult for them to take a break from work, the more they felt both burned out and emotionally exhausted from their work. We also found a gender gap, with women faculty showing a stronger correlation between not being able to take a break from work and feeling burned out compared to their male peers. The relentless pressure of learning and adopting new technologies is taking a t›oll on faculty. Administrators may have to take a step back from rapid EdTech advancement and develop more deliberate digital strategies to understand what EdTech tools are working and what tools need to be removed in order to facilitate a better learning experience for students and a more supportive teaching experience for faculty.Learn more in the full report: https://lnkd.in/d3RdGrBU

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“The first two times I tried college, I didn’t finish. There was never enough time to care for my young son, work a full-time job and do my schoolwork. And there was never enough money to pay rent, tuition and child care,” writes Abby Bediako, a 2024 student parent graduate of Howard Community College.In her piece for The Hechinger Report, Abby writes about the common barriers student parents — who make up one out of every five undergraduates in the country — face in higher education. It wasn’t until Abby enrolled at HCC that she was able to complete her degree. Abby attributes her eventual success to HCC’s program designed with student parents in mind. “HCC offered me enough scholarships and financial aid to cover my tuition and fees for two years. They even gave me an emergency grant when I had trouble making rent one time. They arranged a flexible schedule that let me take all but one of my classes online at night after I was done with my job and had put my son to bed. At my previous college, I’d had to drop in-person courses when I couldn’t find child care at night. Howard also had a Career Links program designed specifically for single parents. It provided one-on-one academic and career counseling that helped me select my major, kept me on track to graduate and gave me the guidance I needed to figure out my future.”Considering the prevalence of student parents in the U.S., every institution should be exploring wraparound services like these. https://lnkd.in/eQu5hScN

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Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) is a well-known tool in higher education that continues to hold promise for expanding access and lowering costs for underserved populations, including adult learners. However, access to these credentials remains limited and underutilized, which is why we were excited to see the recent effort by Davenport University to provide an accessible, easy-to-use digital tool that helps students predict what credits they may receive for their experiences and then generate how much money and time they could save using a specialized pathwayAdult learners make up a significant proportion of the college student body, bringing a wealth of prior experience with them. CPL enables these students to receive credit for relevant lived experiences outside of academia, shortening their time to degree and lowering the cost of their education. Learn more via Inside Higher Ed https://lnkd.in/gUqAZQVE

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👏 Congrats to our Accelerator client Keely Cat-Wells and the whole Making Space team for making the TechCrunch Startup Battlefield cut! Learn more about the great work they’re doing to support the disability economy at #Disrupt2024!

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In our latest Faculty EdTech survey, we found that faculty are largely unenthusiastic about using AI in teaching and learning. Only 42% of faculty believe AI tools will positively impact their experience, 49% do not use them in the classroom, and 43% believe it’s unethical for students to use ChatGPT in their coursework. Institutions need to address these oppositional views as AI continues to become a fixture in our lives. Individuals are already using tools such as ChatGPT to help write code, emails, and resumes, apply for jobs, and even plan vacations. Students are attending higher education in these changing times when help with school work can easily be accessed online and for free using AI. AI is also becoming a highly sought-after tool for companies, with employers willing to pay higher wages for employees who are skilled with AI. It is vital that students receive some form of AI literacy in their education so they can achieve their full earning potential when they graduate. That starts with faculty buy-in. Institutions must provide the support, training, and guidance necessary for all faculty to effectively incorporate AI into their teaching. Developing AI expertise among faculty can also ensure innovation and competitivness in grant proposals, research, and other university goals. Download the full report on our site: https://lnkd.in/d3RdGrBU

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