Better retention. Guaranteed.
Here's the evidence behind that promise.
Retention is one of the most consequential challenges in higher education. Every percentage point represents real students who didn’t reach their goals, and real institutional consequences that follow.
Yellowdig was built to change that. We guarantee it will increase your retention by at least 1%. The research below is why we’re confident in making that promise.
What institutions are seeing
Yellowdig’s outcomes span multiple institutions, multiple methodologies, and years of data. The outcomes and the science behind them point consistently in the same direction. When students feel genuinely connected to their learning community, they stay enrolled, complete their courses, and perform better academically.
+4–10%
Retention
In research across more than 50 communities and over 8,000 students, including two independent analyses, Yellowdig improved retention by 4–10%.
+10%
Course completion
Across multiple studies at varying institution types, Yellowdig has increased course completion and pass rates by 10% or more. Large independent correlation analyses have also validated these outcomes, finding that Yellowdig engagement is a consistent predictor of course success or withdrawal.
94%+
Satisfaction
Students and faculty love Yellowdig. In a wide ranging survey, 94.5% of faculty said Yellowdig engaged their students more effectively than other community tools, and 95% felt more personally connected to their students. Students using Yellowdig reported satisfaction with their remote learning experience at a rate 17.5 percentage points above the national average.
The research behind the results
These outcomes hold across institution types, modalities, and student populations because they're rooted in how people actually learn and why they stay or leave. Yellowdig has been built and refined over a decade around four well-established frameworks in learning science and motivational psychology.
Social and Experiential Learning
People learn more deeply when they learn alongside others and connect course material to their real lives. Yellowdig communities draw out students’ genuine questions, real-world experiences, and intellectual curiosity, producing the kind of engagement that passive assignments rarely generate.
Self-Determination Theory
Self-Determination Theory identifies three things that drive performance and genuine engagement: autonomy (real choice in how students participate), competence (the experience of growing and contributing meaningfully), and relatedness (genuine bonds with peers and instructors). When all three are present, students participate because they want to, not because they have to.
Motivation by Design
Sustained and thoughtful engagement requires clear feedback, rewards tied to the right behaviors, and genuine agency. Yellowdig’s design and patented point framework encourage all three while providing faculty with targeted tools to motivate deeper learning. The result is communities where students regularly participate well beyond what their grade requires.
Belonging and Community of Inquiry
A low sense of belonging predicts dropout, regardless of academic performance. Research leading to the Community of Inquiry framework has shown that optimal learning requires students to feel like genuine members of a shared intellectual community. Yellowdig builds student belonging intentionally and at scale, rather than leaving it to chance.
The overlaps in these four frameworks point to a central principle. Students who feel connected, capable, and genuinely part of a learning community don’t disengage. They come back next semester. The outcomes from ASU, Bryan University, OES, and Fort Hays State University are exactly what the science predicts.
Want to go deeper? Read The Science Behind Yellowdig →
Trusted across higher education
Published Research
Martin, Martin & Feldstein (2017), Global Journal of Business Pedagogy: Across four Fort Hays State marketing sections, students who commented on and upvoted peers’ posts more often earned higher grades, with Yellowdig engagement measures explaining about 42% of the variation in course grades. PDF
Faulconer & Griffith (2025), Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching & Learning: In an Embry-Riddle online chemistry course, students with moderate Yellowdig activity scored significantly better than those with low activity. Link
“Yellowdig discussion boards as communities of inquiry” (2025), Journal of Education for Business 100(1): An analysis of 1,146 student contributions found that active instructor participation on Yellowdig strengthened cognitive, social, and learner presence and produced more thoughtful student discussion. Link
“Reflections on using Yellowdig in the COVID-19 era” (2024), Journal of Education for Business 99(2): Reflecting on a multi-year experiment across 14 business and marketing courses, the author argues Yellowdig remains a valuable learning tool even after the return to in-person classes. Link
“Improving Student-to-Student and Student-to-Instructor Connection Through the Use of a Novel Community-Building Platform” (2023), Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior: After replacing standard discussions with Yellowdig in an American University nutrition course, students who strongly agreed they felt connected to classmates rose from 50% to 80%, and to their instructor from 20% to 50%. Link
“Using Yellowdig to Combat Isolation and Build Community in Asynchronous Classes,” NACTA Journal: An NC State instructor found Yellowdig sparked organic peer conversation, collaboration, and note sharing, helping asynchronous students feel more connected to the course and each other. Link
Confident enough to put it in writing
We guarantee Yellowdig will increase your retention by at least 1%, or your money back.
That commitment reflects a decade of partnership with 150+ institutions and genuine confidence in what happens when students feel like they belong. The data above isn’t the sales pitch. It’s the reason we can make the promise. Read the full announcement →
See what this looks like at your institution
Every campus is different. We'd like to understand yours — the specific retention challenges you're navigating, and where Yellowdig might make a meaningful difference.
