Yavapai College, a rural open-enrollment community college in Northern Arizona, has increasingly turned to online learning to support students’ learning needs in its Nursing program. They implemented Labster virtual labs, providing a consistent, repeatable, cost-effective solution that leveled the playing field between online and face-to-face instruction in their microbiology course.

Richard Pierce EdD, the Information Technology Systems (ITS) Client Relationship Manager, led the evaluation. With a background in strategic planning and school leadership, he was well equipped to assess the Labster integration in their BIO 205 courses. 

“We had a gap in completion between our online and face-to-face BIO 205 courses,” he said. “And with over 66% of our students taking BIO 205 online, that gap mattered.”

He readied and led the research on the pilot project, finding that student completion rates in online microbiology courses surged after implementing Labster’s virtual labs.

We dove into the experience of the integration further with him, from an administrator’s perspective. 

‍“I see my role as helping academic departments use technology strategically, to support outcomes that matter to students and the institution,” Richard said.

Key Takeaways:

1. Adopting Virtual labs helped Yavapai College close the performance gap between online and in-person/hybrid courses in the fall of 2024 and the spring of 2025. 

2. Labster assisted Yavapai College in maintaining instructional consistency over time and across various faculty members.

3. Labster’s cost per seat is on par with home lab kits but provides repeatable, accessible, and engaging experiences.

The Data: A Significant Improvement in Online Completion Rates

To measure Labster’s impact, Richard tracked student outcomes over several semesters and compared sections using Labster with those that did not.

“In Fall 2023, online sections without Labster had a 66% completion rate. In Fall of 2024, sections using Labster, jumped to 80%, which was equal to the in-person classes” he said. “That’s a 14-point increase. The equality of outcomes between online learning and in-person sections established by Labster integration in fall 2024 persisted in the spring 2025 semester, which helped us isolate the effect. ”

When asked what made the difference, Richard pointed to Labster’s online convenience, and student mediated interaction including repeatability.

“Labster gives students a chance to learn by doing, and then do it again. You can’t do that with a home lab kit,” he said.

Why Labster?  Building & Maintaining Institutional Capacity for Quality Online Instruction

Richard’s role—supporting the academic side of IT—involves helping departments evaluate, implement, and assess educational technology that improves student outcomes.

“Because of my background, I’m always looking at technology through the lens of student success.”

He first got involved with Labster as part of a pilot project. But the college’s situation quickly highlighted Labster’s value beyond just content delivery.

“Like many institutions, from summer 2022 through spring 2025, we had a mix of full time and adjunct instructors teach this course. Student success was likely impacted by the variety in instructors. Labster became a bulwark against that factor.”

He described Labster as a kind of “digital co-instructor” that ensures students are getting access to the same high-quality, engaging content regardless of who’s teaching the course. 

Cost vs. Home Lab Kits: Making the Case to Leadership

Richard knew that even good outcomes wouldn’t be enough to win institutional support if the cost wasn’t justifiable.

“I went to our Dean and showed the numbers. Labster came in within 10% of the cost of the home lab kits we’d been using.”

That price point, combined with the positive student success data, made it easier to get buy-in.

“I framed it like this: with Labster, you’re not only getting comparable costs, you’re also getting something repeatable and scalable.”

Though many colleges turned to home lab kits during the pandemic, Labster offers a lower long-term cost when you factor in logistics and access. Home lab kits require physical shipping to each student, which can lead to delays, lost packages, and inconsistent access to materials. With Labster, each student receives immediate and repeated access once enrolled, ensuring a smoother, more equitable learning experience across the board.

A Tool for Rural Student Success

In a region where education directly impacts workforce development, Labster has proven itself as more than a lab replacement—it’s a tool for equity.

“For our students, science courses are the gateway,” Richard said. “If they don’t succeed in microbiology, they don’t get into the nursing program. If they don’t get into the nursing program, they can’t access in demand, living wage jobs. Labster is helping support our strategic priorities of student success in online learning and workforce development.”