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Sharpen is the only responsible AI study app loved by students, trusted by educators, and valued by institutions.
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What Is the Sharpen Study App?
For Students
Sharpen
Sharpen is McGraw Hill’s exam prep app that helps students master course concepts with bite-sized study activities: videos, quizzes, flashcards, and more. As they study, Sharpen assesses their progress and delivers personalized learning tips. Students can upgrade to the premium version, Sharpen Plus, with AI-powered tools and expanded access to the full library.
For Institutions
Sharpen Advantage
Sharpen Advantage is the responsible AI learning solution institutions need to increase retention and lower DFW rates. Educators get tools to identify students' knowledge gaps and intervene early. Using vetted content from Sharpen's growing library, administrators scale student success while students get AI study tools that promote learning, not loopholes.
For Faculty
Sharpen Companion
Instructors using Connect® or ALEKS® can add Sharpen Companion to their courses at an affordable price. Students receive premium study content for a single title. This gives students access to expert exam prep resources and safe, trusted, and reliable AI study tools.
How the Sharpen Study App Works
Bite-Sized Exam Prep Tools
The Sharpen study app uses short, mobile-friendly content to help students learn in as little as 5 minutes: videos on key concepts, flashcards, guided solutions, summaries, and customizable quizzes for exam prep.
Ask Sharpen: AI Study Assistant
Students enter prompts to get explanations and study activities with Ask Sharpen, Sharpen's reliable, built-in AI study assistant. Students receive on-demand, personalized, and responsible AI study help (not answers).
Improve: AI-Driven, Personalized Study Tips
Improve is Sharpen's AI engine that analyzes students' in-app progress and recommends study activities to tackle their knowledge gaps. Students also see highlights of their strengths and badges for completed activities.
Admin and Faculty Features
Sharpen Advantage’s Radar dashboard provides institutions with real-time insights into student learning. Institutions can upload course-and institution-specific resources using Creator and send content to students' phones with Playlist to remediate knowledge gaps.
Bite-Sized Exam Prep Tools
The Sharpen study app uses short, mobile-friendly content to help students learn in as little as 5 minutes: videos on key concepts, flashcards, guided solutions, summaries, and customizable quizzes for exam prep.
Ask Sharpen: AI Study Assistant
Students enter prompts to get explanations and study activities with Ask Sharpen, Sharpen's reliable, built-in AI study assistant. Students receive on-demand, personalized, and responsible AI study help (not answers).
Improve: AI-Driven, Personalized Study Tips
Improve is Sharpen's AI engine that analyzes students' in-app progress and recommends study activities to tackle their knowledge gaps. Students also see highlights of their strengths and badges for completed activities.
Admin and Faculty Features
Sharpen Advantage’s Radar dashboard provides institutions with real-time insights into student learning. Institutions can upload course-and institution-specific resources using Creator and send content to students' phones with Playlist to remediate knowledge gaps.
Bite-Sized Exam Prep Tools
The Sharpen study app uses short, mobile-friendly content to help students learn in as little as 5 minutes: videos on key concepts, flashcards, guided solutions, summaries, and customizable quizzes for exam prep.
Ask Sharpen: AI Study Assistant
Students enter prompts to get explanations and study activities with Ask Sharpen, Sharpen's reliable, built-in AI study assistant. Students receive on-demand, personalized, and responsible AI study help (not answers).
Improve: AI-Driven, Personalized Study Tips
Improve is Sharpen's AI engine that analyzes students' in-app progress and recommends study activities to tackle their knowledge gaps. Students also see highlights of their strengths and badges for completed activities.
Admin and Faculty Features
Sharpen Advantage’s Radar dashboard provides institutions with real-time insights into student learning. Institutions can upload course-and institution-specific resources using Creator and send content to students' phones with Playlist to remediate knowledge gaps.
Bite-Sized Exam Prep Tools
The Sharpen study app uses short, mobile-friendly content to help students learn in as little as 5 minutes: videos on key concepts, flashcards, guided solutions, summaries, and customizable quizzes for exam prep.
Ask Sharpen: AI Study Assistant
Students enter prompts to get explanations and study activities with Ask Sharpen, Sharpen's reliable, built-in AI study assistant. Students receive on-demand, personalized, and responsible AI study help (not answers).
Improve: AI-Driven, Personalized Study Tips
Improve is Sharpen's AI engine that analyzes students' in-app progress and recommends study activities to tackle their knowledge gaps. Students also see highlights of their strengths and badges for completed activities.
Admin and Faculty Features
Sharpen Advantage’s Radar dashboard provides institutions with real-time insights into student learning. Institutions can upload course-and institution-specific resources using Creator and send content to students' phones with Playlist to remediate knowledge gaps.
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Full Library of Titles Expert-developed academic content and OER-friendly titles spanning dozens of course areas. |
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Access one title in Sharpen from the Connect or ALEKS platforms |
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Study Resources Study with videos, quizzes, flashcards, summaries, and guided solutions |
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Ask Sharpen and Improve Leverage Sharpen's AI assistant and study recommendation engine |
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Radar (Admin and Faculty Only) Review a real-time academic insights dashboard |
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Creator (Admin and Faculty Only) Create or upload course- and institution-specific content |
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Playlist (Admin and Faculty Only) Share curated content instantly with students on their phones |
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Available for purchase by students in the bookstore |
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Sharpen Frequently Asked Questions
Sharpen is a higher education study app by McGraw Hill offering students bite-sized, engaging, and reliable learning tools. Sharpen delivers a growing library of vetted academic content and OER-friendly materials across a range of disciplines. The app evaluates students' progress, identifies knowledge gaps, and delivers AI-powered study recommendations to improve their exam readiness. Sharpen's faculty and admin tools allow institutions to gather insights into student performance within Sharpen and remediate, share custom learning materials, and use responsible AI tools to enhance student learning.
Students can access Sharpen in multiple ways. To understand the most optimal pathway for your institution, please contact your McGraw Hill representative by visiting the webpage for the version of Sharpen you are most interested in and completing a contact us form.
Students can download the Sharpen mobile app from the App Store, Google Play or log into the web app at studysharpen.com. Some institutions and professors may choose to enable Sharpen within McGraw Hill Connect and McGraw Hill ALEKS or through their Learning Management System (LMS). Students do not need McGraw Hill accounts to use Sharpen.
Yes! Sharpen can be used alongside any course materials. Sharpen's content covers a wide range of textbook titles from OpenStax and other publishers. Educators using Sharpen Advantage can also create and customize learning content to align with any textbook they are using.
Sharpen has a web platform ACR/VPAT available for review that reflects conformance with WCAG 2.2AA standards as of April 2025. Please contact McGraw Hill for the most recent accessibility credentials.
Absolutely. McGraw Hill Enterprise Account Managers live and work locally to your institution and travel on campus regularly to support the needs of campus administrators. Visit Sharpen Advantage and complete a contact us form to get in touch with your local McGraw Hill Enterprise Account Manager to schedule an on-site demo.
Visit Sharpen Support at Every Step for help, training videos, user guides, and registration tutorials for instructors and students.
Yes! Learn more about pairing Sharpen with Connect by visiting the webpage for the version of Sharpen you are most interested in and completing a contact us form.
Yes! Learn more about pairing Sharpen with ALEKS by visiting the webpage for the version of Sharpen you are most interested in and completing a contact us form.
Sharpen harnesses AI to create tailored learning experiences that empower students and educators. McGraw Hill is committed to using responsible AI practices across all digital learning platforms, including Sharpen. To learn more about how Sharpen uses AI and Large Language Models, review our AI Disclosure policy.
Sharpen does NOT provide answers to any McGraw Hill assignments, tests, or other products. Sharpen is a trusted study app for institutions and students, designed to uphold academic integrity, build understanding, and encourage critical thinking—ultimately driving better student outcomes.
Sharpen was designed with learning science principles as a study tool to promote real learning. It applies the same learning science principles and instructional design best practices as core McGraw Hill products.
Sharpen’s study content is written, produced, and reviewed by McGraw Hill subject matter experts. Sharpen's AI feature Ask Sharpen pulls content from Sharpen’s library first and if needed, may use third-party generative AI services to generate content from external sources. Any GenAI study activities are clearly labeled as distinct from Sharpen’s trusted study content. For questions about Ask Sharpen, read McGraw Hill’s AI Disclosure policy.
Sharpen applies the same learning science principles and instructional design best practices as flagship McGraw Hill products. Its content aligned with every level of Bloom’s taxonomy, ensuring that students practice material at varying levels of difficulty and complexity.
How the Sharpen App is Helping Instructors
I wanted to give my students an effective, flexible way to prepare-- something beyond office hours and tutoring sessions. Sharpen helps students meet their learning goals and gives me a trusted tool to recommend--without restructuring my course.
My job as an instructor is to make sure from Day One that we have all the tools to help students with their success. So, I really start to push the Sharpen app, and then even use it for flipped learning.
Sharpen has had a positive impact on the student learning experience by reinforcing the core concepts and skills taught in my Principles of Marketing course.
Having engaging content that my students can relate to-- and I know I can trust [Sharpen], will help them be better prepared.
I wanted to give my students an effective, flexible way to prepare-- something beyond office hours and tutoring sessions. Sharpen helps students meet their learning goals and gives me a trusted tool to recommend--without restructuring my course.
My job as an instructor is to make sure from Day One that we have all the tools to help students with their success. So, I really start to push the Sharpen app, and then even use it for flipped learning.
Sharpen has had a positive impact on the student learning experience by reinforcing the core concepts and skills taught in my Principles of Marketing course.
Having engaging content that my students can relate to-- and I know I can trust [Sharpen], will help them be better prepared.
I wanted to give my students an effective, flexible way to prepare-- something beyond office hours and tutoring sessions. Sharpen helps students meet their learning goals and gives me a trusted tool to recommend--without restructuring my course.
My job as an instructor is to make sure from Day One that we have all the tools to help students with their success. So, I really start to push the Sharpen app, and then even use it for flipped learning.
Sharpen has had a positive impact on the student learning experience by reinforcing the core concepts and skills taught in my Principles of Marketing course.
Having engaging content that my students can relate to-- and I know I can trust [Sharpen], will help them be better prepared.
I wanted to give my students an effective, flexible way to prepare-- something beyond office hours and tutoring sessions. Sharpen helps students meet their learning goals and gives me a trusted tool to recommend--without restructuring my course.
My job as an instructor is to make sure from Day One that we have all the tools to help students with their success. So, I really start to push the Sharpen app, and then even use it for flipped learning.
Sharpen has had a positive impact on the student learning experience by reinforcing the core concepts and skills taught in my Principles of Marketing course.
Having engaging content that my students can relate to-- and I know I can trust [Sharpen], will help them be better prepared.