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Generative AI and related technologies are poised to enable the creation of learning science-aligned, personalized curricula faster and with fewer resources than we could have imagined just five years ago. At WGU Labs, our teams are already making strides on these fronts, alongside researchers and EdTech innovators across the sector.
These tools, when guided by experts in pedagogy and learning design, have the potential to bring authentic, high-quality educational experiences — once accessible only through elite and costly models — to every student at a fraction of the cost. Moreover, with insights from psychology and social sciences, we can unify support for students across personal, academic, and career domains in ways traditional advising, counseling, and career centers have struggled to achieve. If built intentionally leveraging learner-centered design, AI tools have the potential to transform higher education into the type of high-touch learning experience every student deserves.
The Skeptic’s Question
Understandably, some will hear this optimism and worry: “But at what cost? Won’t we be sacrificing the shared dynamics of learning, collective engagement, and the educator-student relationship for a sterile and isolating learning experience experience?”
Like all technologies, it’s all about intent. AI could help us make learning richer with relationships, more personalized, and more socially engaging than most learning today by reimagining the allocation of support resources within the instructional model.
What might this look like? A more high-touch model could combine flexible, online learning with wraparound support, including emergency funds and personalized career coaches embedded in local communities to help students navigate everything from their college search to their coursework.
A Hard but Good Lesson Learned
A few years ago, WGU Labs and Western Governors University (WGU), our parent organization, partnered with community-based educational support organizations to provide high-touch, local coaching for students. The premise was straightforward. Success in college isn’t just about your schoolwork. It is, for many, about how well they are able to navigate and manage the many life challenges that disrupt lives and interfere with learning — work, kids, family, and finances. If we can wrap these students in powerful support systems, we will not only attract them to higher education but buoy them to success.
Our pilot matched a small group of students who lived near one of three community-based organizations and were enrolled in select programs in WGU’s School of Technology to a community-based coach. These coaches often shared the students’ lived experiences, deeply understood their communities, and had resources to step in when challenges arose for their students. These coaches helped students to set and balance their schedules, establish goals, and stay motivated in addition to providing academic support. Students also gained access to physical locations with stable internet, quiet study spaces, and childcare, among other resources to help them in their studies.
We were hopeful. Research had shown similar programs had positive effects for online learners, and our own students who had previously dropped out said these resources would have helped them stay enrolled.
The Cost Barrier
This was a complex pilot with a number of challenging issues, but the issue that ultimately proved too challenging to move forward was cost. WGU’s mission is to provide high-quality education at an affordable price — currently $7,000–$8,000 annually. Even substituting some academic mentoring with community-based coaching proved financially unsustainable for the institution.
This dilemma highlights a broader issue in higher education. An accredited higher education institution that provides a complement of instructional programs, assessment, and student support along with the enrollment and administrative functions is people intensive. Across the U.S., Title IV-eligible institutions employ about 4 million people to serve 20 million students — a student-to-staff ratio of 5:1. Yet our surveys show that students often report their education feels impersonal, whether online or on-campus.
Why the Disconnect?
The reality is that many higher education professionals aren’t positioned or resourced to focus on the personal and social concerns that can critically interfere with students' progress. Faculty and advisors juggle hundreds of students at a time, making it nearly impossible to build meaningful relationships.
Moreover, these professionals are not typically hired based on their familiarity with their communities or the lived experiences they share with students — factors research shows are critical to success for Black, Hispanic, and lower-income students (1, 2, 3).
As a result, students may receive expert instruction in calculus but lack practical support: finding childcare, access to a stable internet connection, or tailored guidance to map out their academic path. For most students, it’s not failing grades but life’s complexities that derail their education.
The Role of AI
AI-powered curriculum design and support systems could help reduce the cost of delivering education while freeing resources to address these barriers. By driving down the cost of designing and delivering instruction, institutions could reinvest in personalized, high-touch support for students who need it most.
Imagine a future where every student is surrounded by a network of experts — not just in their academic discipline but also in the challenges they face outside the classroom. This could include specialists who understand their communities and provide tailored solutions for their unique needs.
The Road Ahead
An AI-powered instructional model could make the high-touch college experience vastly more cost-effective and scalable.
We’re not there yet. Realizing this vision will require significant research, continued technological innovation, a thoughtful and intentional design for and transition to new instructional models, and the institutions, policies, and practices that help us use this new technology to capture its benefits and mitigate its worst effects. But I believe we’ll get there sooner than most of us expect. AI has the potential to help us not only expand access to education but also make it more student-centered, equitable, and effective than ever before.
