McGraw-Hill Continues to Rapidly Expand Access to Affordable College Course Materials for Millions of Students in the 2019-20 School Year

NEW YORK, Aug. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- McGraw-Hill is continuing to expand its array of initiatives focused on lowering the cost of course materials and improving outcomes for students. Since last year, the company has rapidly expanded its Inclusive Access program, which provides significant savings to students, increasing the number of student activations of its digital course materials via Inclusive Access by 70 percent and now reaching more than 660 campuses with the program. The company also launched an affordable eBook product and continued to grow its textbook rental program and add more value to its digital platforms.

Because of initiatives like McGraw-Hill's and others in the industry, the overall cost of learning materials for students has continued to decline. Data released last month by the National Association of College Stores (NACS) showed a 14 percent decline in student spending on course materials in the 2018-19 school year. Students spent only $415 on average on print and digital materials last year, compared to $484 in 2017-18. That number has continued to tick down from over $700 in 2007-08. The fast growth of Inclusive Access is one factor that has helped bring costs down.

Inclusive Access is a partnership between an education institution, bookstore, and publisher to deliver digital course materials to students on or before the first day of class at deeply discounted and affordable rates – up to 70 percent off the cost of print textbooks. Research shows that Inclusive Access helps improve learning outcomes as well. Students who have timely access to high-quality course materials are more likely to be prepared and engaged, resulting in higher grades and completion rates in the course.

For more information about McGraw-Hill's focus on affordability and outcomes, visit: https://www.mheducation.com/highered/explore/affordability-outcomes.html

In addition to Inclusive Access, the company recently launched a new McGraw-Hill eBook product, which gives students the flexibility to study anytime, anywhere either on their computers or via the ReadAnywhere app on their mobile devices, even when they're offline. The eBooks provide a much more dynamic experience than traditional eBooks, with features such as annotation tools, text search capability, and the option to read the text aloud. Prices for McGraw-Hill eBooks start at just $45.

The company's new textbook rental program continues to expand as well, saving students up to 70 percent off the cost of print textbooks.

In 2019, McGraw-Hill also announced a series of updates to its Connect and ALEKS platforms designed to help students get more value out of their digital learning materials, including:

• A new version of SmartBook, the adaptive learning engine within Connect, which provides a more personalized learning experience and offline work capabilities
• A new automated writing feedback tool in Connect to help students succeed in this traditionally challenging academic area
• A new machine learning feature called ALEKS Insights that gives instructors a deeper look into student performance

"McGraw-Hill's goal is to help all learners unlock their full learning potential," said Nana Banerjee, CEO of McGraw-Hill. "To accomplish this, it is critical that we continue to deliver the highest value possible, while at the same time balancing affordability and student success. As we enter the new school year, we're excited to continue this important work."

McGraw-Hill
McGraw-Hill is a learning science company that delivers personalized learning experiences that drive results for students, parents, educators and professionals. We focus on educational equity, affordability and learning success to help learners build better lives. Headquartered in New York City, McGraw-Hill has offices across North America, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and South America, and makes its learning solutions for PreK-12, higher education, professionals and others available in more than 75 languages. Visit us at mheducation.com or find us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter.

Contact:
Tyler Reed
McGraw-Hill
(646) 766-2951
tyler.reed@mheducation.com

SOURCE McGraw-Hill