Company Performance Metrics
Originally launched in 1997 as a project of North Carolina State University, and fully incorporated in 2003, Advanced Instructional Systems, Inc., dba WebAssign®, was founded by John Risley Ph.D., a physics education specialist and professor in the Department of Physics at North Carolina State University. It was Dr. Risley’s vision to provide
faculty with the most robust tools and the widest selection of content to support their pedagogical goals, thereby fostering student success. Under his leadership, WebAssign became an employee-owned benefit company, with the stated benefit of education. Dr. Risley passed away in April 2013, but his passion for using technology to connect students and teachers lives on in everything they do.
In 2016, WebAssign was acquired by Cengage, one of the largest education and technology companies worldwide. The acquisition builds on a long history of partnership between both parties and creates a powerful solution for STEM education.
