grammarlyOriginal articleScaling Always-On Writing Support at Florida Atlantic University (opens in new tab)
Florida Atlantic University successfully implemented Grammarly as a campus-wide writing support tool to improve student outcomes while reducing the grading burden on faculty. By integrating the software directly into students' existing workflows, the university observed significant gains in course completion, retention, and average GPAs across diverse student populations. This strategic approach demonstrates that providing low-friction, automated feedback on mechanics allows students to submit stronger drafts and enables instructors to focus their critiques on higher-order ideas and arguments. ### Strategic Integration and Low-Friction Access * The university opted for a campus-wide rollout that prioritized instructor autonomy, allowing faculty to decide how to best onboard students within their specific writing-intensive courses. * The tool was integrated into students' existing digital ecosystems, including Microsoft Word, Google Docs, Outlook, and Gmail, as well as via browser extensions to ensure adoption didn't require new platforms. * Grammarly was positioned as a “first line of instruction” for recurring mechanical issues, acting as a private, on-demand support system that reduced the friction typically associated with seeking help. ### Measurable Impact on Student Success * Data analysis revealed a +5.3-point persistence lift, with Grammarly users reaching a 79.5% completion rate compared to 74.2% for their peers. * Significant gains were noted in "gateway" courses that unlock further degree progress, with completion rates rising by +3.3 points in writing-intensive courses and +4.3 points in STEM sections. * Frequent users achieved an average GPA of 3.69, which was 0.4 points higher than non- or low-frequency users, even when controlling for baseline demographics and prior academic performance. ### Continuous Writing Performance Gains * Writing performance scores increased by +2.14 points in Fall 2023 and +1.28 in Fall 2024, suggesting that the tool supports ongoing skill development rather than just short-term corrections. * Continuous users showed a year-over-year improvement in writing scores from 76.7 to 81.3. * The visibility of recurring patterns in the students' own drafts allowed them to make sustainable changes to their writing habits over multiple terms. ### Shift in Faculty Instruction * The implementation acted as a "classroom pressure release," making student drafts easier to read by filtering out repeated mechanical errors. * Instructors were able to shift their focus away from basic proofreading and toward guiding students on complex structural and argumentative elements. * The university utilized the rich usage datasets provided by the software to inform broader student-success initiatives and institutional analysis. To replicate these results, institutions should focus on broad access and low-barrier implementation, ensuring the tool meets students where they already write. Anchoring the rollout to specific momentum metrics—such as first-year retention and STEM course completion—allows administrators to track the tangible impact of the technology on institutional goals.
