College Saver: helping millions earn their college degree

A multi-platform redesign to improve course completion

Study.com is an online education platform. Its flagship product, College Saver, lets adult learners earn college credit through self-paced online courses that transfer to degree programs at 2,000+ partner universities. Member growth was declining, and the data pointed to a core problem: roughly half of enrolled learners were dropping off before completing a single course.

I led a multi-platform redesign — responsive web alongside new native iOS and Android apps — focused on improving course completion.

Understanding why learners were dropping off

Through user research, internal product audits, and concept and usability testing, I identified the breakdowns causing learners to abandon their courses. College Saver users are cost-conscious adults juggling work and family. They need a clear path through the course content and motivational support to stay on it — and the legacy experience offered neither.

Three principles, grounded in UX heuristics and learning science

Each principle addresses a specific breakdown in the legacy experience and anchored every design decision:

• Clarity: eliminate ambiguity about what a course requires and how to get started.
• Guidance: keep learners moving through the course efficiently, without removing user choice.
• Motivation: surface progress and relevance so learners stay engaged.

Deeper engagement is compounding into business impact

6 weeks into a 50/50 A/B test, users in the new experience are enrolling in more courses, staying longer, and driving stronger revenue growth.

Persistence lifted at every stage of the course funnel

The redesign moved every milestone in the right direction — from starting the course through passing it.