1. What is the WGU School of Technology x Riipen Data Analytics program?
This initiative connects employers with WGU Data Analytics learners for short-term, real-world project experiences conducted remotely through the Riipen platform.
Projects are co-curricular (outside of academic credit) and designed to help learners apply their skills while contributing to real business challenges.
About the Learners
Learners in this program:
Are in the final stages of WGU’s Data Analytics Bachelor’s program
Have completed advanced coursework in Python, R, SQL, data wrangling, and analytics workflows
Have experience with exploratory analysis, statistical methods, and introductory machine learning
Hold industry-recognized certifications (e.g., CompTIA Data+, AWS Cloud Practitioner)
Have been pre-screened by WGU Career Services for readiness and professionalism
They are capable of contributing to real analytics work while benefiting from employer guidance.
Project Details
Duration: June 22 – August 14, 2026
Time commitment (learners): 40–60 hours total
Timeline: ~6–8 weeks
Team structure: Up to 5 learners per project
Format: Remote, project-based, independent work
Scope: Intermediate to advanced data analytics projects
2. What types of projects can I post?
Strong projects are well-scoped, data-driven, and aligned with real business questions.
Examples include:
Data Cleaning & Preparation
Improve data quality, structure datasets, and prepare for analysis
Exploratory Data Analysis
Identify trends, patterns, and insights from existing datasets
Dashboard & Reporting Development
Build visualizations to track KPIs or business performance
Business Problem Analysis
Investigate a question (e.g., customer behavior, operations, growth) and provide recommendations
Introductory Predictive Analytics
Develop simple models to forecast outcomes like demand or churn
Projects should be achievable within 6–8 weeks while still delivering meaningful outcomes.
3. What is the time commitment for employers?
Employers should expect to spend approximately 5 hours total across the project.
This includes:
Project kickoff meeting
Reviewing progress updates
Providing feedback at key milestones
Reviewing final deliverables
Ongoing communication is encouraged but kept lightweight.
4. Are there any costs associated with participating?
No. Participation in the WGU + Riipen program is completely free for employers.
5. What kinds of deliverables will learners produce?
Learners produce practical, business-ready outputs, such as:
Cleaned and structured datasets
Exploratory analysis summaries and insights
Business reports with recommendations
Dashboards or visualizations (when applicable)
Data quality assessments
Introductory predictive models
Documentation and data dictionaries
Deliverables are designed to be usable and actionable for your organization.
6. What are learners capable of?
By the time they begin their projects, learners can:
Work with Python and/or R for data analysis
Perform data cleaning, transformation, and preparation
Conduct exploratory and statistical analysis
Support data visualization and reporting
Apply end-to-end analytics workflows
Understand data governance and ethical data use
They are well-suited for structured analytics tasks, with guidance helping translate their work into business value.
7. How are learners assigned to projects?
Learners are assigned to projects by the program team — there is no application or self-selection process.
Once matched:
Employers receive access to learner profiles
Learners gain access to project details and begin communication via Riipen
8. What support should I provide to learners?
Employers play a key role in shaping the experience. You will:
Provide project context, goals, and data (if applicable)
Offer guidance and feedback at key milestones
Be available for questions and clarification
Learners are expected to work independently, but benefit from your input to ensure relevance and quality.
9. What milestones are included in the project?
All projects follow a light, structured milestone framework:
Week 1: Project kickoff
Week 2: Early progress check-in
Midpoint (Week 3–4): Progress update + feedback
End of project: Final deliverables + evaluation
This structure ensures steady progress and alignment.
10. What if a learner is not meeting expectations?
This is a learning-focused experience, and outcomes may vary.
However:
Learners are expected to communicate and stay engaged
Lack of participation may result in removal from the project
Riipen support is available if issues arise
11. Can I modify my project after it starts?
Project scope can be refined before matching.
Once learners are assigned, major changes are not permitted, but the Riipen team can help you adjust within reason.
12. How does this differ from a traditional internship?
These are:
Short-term (6–8 weeks)
Project-based (not employment)
Remote and flexible
Learners focus on specific deliverables, rather than ongoing job responsibilities.
13. Will I need to evaluate learners?
Yes. At the end of the project, employers are expected to:
Review final deliverables
Provide structured feedback on performance
Complete a short evaluation (technical skills, communication, etc.)
This feedback supports learner growth and program quality.
14. Why should I participate?
By participating, you can:
Gain fresh insights on real business problems
Extend your team’s capacity with motivated learners
Build connections with emerging data talent
Contribute to workforce development in data analytics
15. How do I get started?
To participate:
2. Visit the WGU portal and request portal access.
3. Browse open portal programs and hit “request match” for the Data Analytics program.
4. You will be directed to our 3rd party identification provider, Persona, to complete a 5 step identity and verification process
5. Submit the match request. Hit “view request” to sign the program agreements and confirm the match.