Cybersecurity Dropout Issue

Goal: Reduce dropouts and increase pace to improve graduation rates

Outcome: A single strategic change significantly reduced dropouts and generated nearly $1 million in additional revenue.

PROJECT SNAPSHOT

Role
Lead Instructional Designer, Project Manager

Project
Cybersecurity Program Optimization: Dropout Issue at Capstone One

Program Length
6-9 months

Program Goal
Reskill beginners into job-ready cybersecurity professionals

Project Duration
2 weeks

Stakeholders
Head of Portfolio Management Office, Director of ID, Manager of ID, Content Manager, Editor, Program Manager, Student Support, Product Manager

Tools & Platforms
Custom LMS (Contentful), Infosec VM Environment, Tableau, Slack, Zoom, Microsoft Office Suite, SharePoint, screen recording + GIF tools, Jira

Accreditation Support
Maintained program documentation to support higher education accreditation standards

PROBLEM

  • 15% of students dropped out during Capstone One

  • Almost no one dropped out after that—so keeping students through Capstone One could significantly boost graduation rates and revenue

  • The organization’s initial assumptions blamed:

    • An overly difficult assessment

    • Poor curriculum alignment

PROCESS

  • Reviewed the course and assessment from the student’s perspective

  • Conducted interviews with SMEs, student support, and recent learners

  • Discovered the core issue: the virtual machine (VM) environment was so unclear that students couldn’t interpret progress or results—and often didn’t know whether they had passed

SOLUTION

  • I designed step-by-step guide to help learners check their results. We couldn’t change the VM system—but we could demystify it

  • This content was delivered in multiple modalities for varied learner preferences

    • GIFs, screenshots, explainer videos, and plain-text guides

OUTCOME

  • Students gained clarity on how to track their own progress

  • The drop-off at Capstone One was eliminated

  • A single strategic solution led to:

    • 14% increase in graduation rates

    • Nearly $1M in additional revenue

The blocker wasn’t content—it was clarity. Empowering students to self-check and self-correct removed friction and accelerated success.