Summary:
- Student parents top the dataset for course enjoyment, with 88.6% saying they enjoy their course more because of Genio Notes, alongside a joint-highest GPA rise of +0.25 (7.6%).
- Working students saw study stress drop by 20% over the semester, the biggest reduction of any segment.
- First-year students saw a GPA gain of +0.24 (7.3%) over the semester, more than double the overall average.
- First-generation students recorded the highest persistence figure of any New Majority Learner segment, with 75.7% saying Genio Notes helped them stay in school.
- ESL students saw an 18.2% drop in study stress over the semester, the second-highest reduction of any group.
- Mature students reported a 14% fall in stress, a 4.4% GPA gain, and 70.0% saying Genio Notes helped them achieve a better study-life balance.
The Learner Impact Report 2026 is our annual look at how Genio Notes is shaping student outcomes across higher education, drawing on responses from 1,033 learners in the United States.
The data reflects a student population whose needs and circumstances are becoming increasingly diverse, with many learners balancing their studies alongside work, caregiving responsibilities, and other competing demands. As higher education evolves, understanding how different groups of learners experience and navigate these pressures has become more important than ever.
New Majority Learners are often older, working, parenting, or the first in their family to attend college. Their experience looks different from the one institutions were originally designed around, and so do the kinds of support that help them succeed.
Here, we take a closer look at six segments within the New Majority:
- Student parents
- Working students
- First-year students
- First-generation students
- ESL students
- Mature students
Below, we unpack what this year’s data tells us about the role Genio Notes plays in each of these learners’ experiences.
To read more about Genio’s impact on the New Majority Learners click here.
Who are the New Majority Learners?
Non-traditional learners now constitute the New Majority, with 40.2% of students over the age of 22 and 69.3% working while studying.
As such, higher education institutions need to evolve their approach to attract, retain, and support a changing student population, thereby ensuring their long term viability.
The key to achieving this lies in pivoting toward the needs of the New Majority, by understanding how the experiences of non-traditional students differ to those they have historically catered for.
Download Genio’s New Majority Learner Report here.
How Genio supports student parents
Student parents are one of the most quietly compelling stories in this year's Learner Impact Survey. They show some of the strongest gains across every metric we look at, and when you consider what they're navigating, perhaps that shouldn't be a surprise. Fitting study into the margins of a life that already has no margins is genuinely hard, and the students doing it deserve far more credit than they tend to get.
Across all 1,033 respondents, students saw an average GPA improvement of 3.0% over the semester. For student parents, that figure rises sharply, with an average rise of +0.25 a 7.6% increase, and joint-highest of any segment in the dataset.
On retention, 77.2% say Genio Notes helped them stay in school, and 79.7% say it helped them stay in their current major. 88.6% say they enjoy their course more because of Genio Notes, the highest enjoyment figure anywhere in the dataset.
Stress doesn't stop at the library door for student parents, it follows them home. 73.4% say they find studying less stressful with Genio Notes, and 79.7% report a better study-life balance.
"Helps so when I have quiet time I can actually have time for my kids as a single father and full-time student."- Student, Aims Community College, Colorado
Learn more about how colleges can drive success for student parents and how Genio supports them here.
How Genio supports working students
Working students are the largest New Majority Learner segment in this year's Learner Impact Survey, and the numbers here speak to just how much is riding on their studies. Holding down a job alongside a course is rarely a lifestyle choice, more often it's a necessity.
Stress is where the data felt most striking. Working students saw a 20% reduction in study stress over the semester, the sharpest drop of any group. That came alongside 80.8% saying they enjoy their course more with Genio Notes, and 81.5% reporting that they feel more confident with their note taking.
When students are trying to fit study around shifts and deadlines, confidence in the basics is often what keeps them going.
"Note taking and being able to go back to content I learned in class knowing everything is accurate has been a game changer for me. I feel like my high grades are a reflection of this." - Student, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Hawaii
Learn more about how colleges can support working students here.
How Genio supports first year students
First-year students sit at one of the most formative points in any academic journey. The habits they build early tend to be the ones they carry forward, and this year's data suggests that giving them the right scaffolding early on can make a real difference.
First-year students saw a GPA improvement of +0.24, or 7.3%, over the semester, more than double the overall average. 72.1% say they feel more confident in their note taking, and 64.2% say Genio Notes helped them enjoy their course more.
The story here is really about early intervention. The earlier students engage with Genio Notes, the more runway they have to benefit from it.
Read more about how colleges can create a better first year experience for students here.
How Genio supports first gen students
First-generation students are often arriving at higher education without the unspoken knowledge their peers may have grown up with. Many first-generation learners cite study skills, not intelligence, as the thing they feel they're missing. The gap is real, but it's also closable, and this year's Learner Impact Survey offers a few encouraging signals.
75.7% of first-generation students say Genio Notes helped them stay in school, the highest persistence figure of any New Majority Learner segment. Their GPA rose by an average of +0.16, a 5.0% increase over the semester, and 76.2% say they feel more confident in their note taking.
The story here is a quiet one. Genio Notes isn't doing the studying for them, it's working in the background to give them access to the kind of study scaffolding their peers may have already been taught.
Learn more about how Genio helps to overcome first generation challenges here.
How Genio supports students with English as their second language
Studying in a second language carries a cognitive cost that's easy to overlook. Every lecture asks ESL students to translate, process and take notes all at the same time, often at a pace that wasn't designed with them in mind.
78.0% of ESL students say they enjoy their course more because of Genio Notes, and their study stress dropped by 18.2% over the semester, the second-highest stress reduction of any segment in the dataset.
When we ask ESL students what makes the difference, the transcript feature comes up again and again. Being able to read back what was said, at their own pace and in their own time, takes away some of the pressure of processing a second language in real time.
"It helps record lectures and gives you subtitles, like a show but it's actually the lecture. The subtitles help me understand the professor." - Student, Austin Community College, Texas
Learn more about how colleges can support ESL students here.
How Genio supports mature students (over 25+)
Mature students arrive at higher education with a lot already on their plate. Many are returning after time away, balancing work, family and the mental load of re-entering an academic environment that wasn't always built with them in mind.
Students aged 25 and over saw their study stress fall by 14% over the semester, alongside a GPA rise of +0.15, a 4.4% increase. 70.0% also report a better study/life balance because of Genio Notes.
Genio Notes gives them time back, and the confidence that they're not missing what matters in a lecture. Both of those feel like small things in isolation, but for someone trying to fit study around the rest of a full life, they can add up to a great deal.
Learn more about how mature students are using Genio here.
See how Genio Notes could support your students
Looking across this year's data, the same pattern shows up again and again. When students who've often had to figure things out on their own are given a small piece of steady support, the results can be quietly transformative with better grades, less stress, and the confidence to keep going.
Book a demo to see Genio Notes in action and our team can walk you through what Genio Notes looks like in practice, share how other institutions have rolled it out, and help you better support the New Majority Learners at your institution.
