Helping Students Achieve Their Dreams

This is a story of inspiration. Each year, millions of college students work hard and sacrifice to achieve their dreams knowing that a college education opens the door to opportunity.

In December, an ambitious young student spoke to several hundred McGraw-Hill employees. As Alejandra (Allie) Rodriguez, an honors student in political science at Florida Atlantic University, stood on the stage and told us of her journey, she made us all vividly aware of the value of a college education. She also made it clear how enormous the challenge can be, even for the hardest working students, to reach their potential.

It’s easy to see that Allie is destined for great things, and the path to college should be a given. But for Allie, it never was. Despite being a high achieving student, Allie believed that going to college was a dream she might not be able to afford. Even though college seemed like a long shot, she wanted to try anything she possibly could to make college a reality.

 Fortunately, just before graduation, Allie learned that she had earned a full scholarship to college from the Viner Community Scholarship. As a first-generation college student, it was an emotional moment for her and her family. Today, she is in the top 10% of her university. But she might never have gotten that opportunity without incredible ambition and the fortune of receiving her scholarship. Not every student can make that happen – and that often costs them a chance at a college education.

The cost of college is one of the most pressing issues in higher education today. The value of a degree is invaluable for many students, particularly for those at the bottom of the income quintile where a degree raises their earning potential dramatically. Yet, in the last two decades, average state and federal spending on higher education has dropped significantly, while tuition costs have steadily climbed. All of this comes at a critical time when there is a huge demand for college graduates to fill specialized and technical jobs, many of which don’t yet exist.

Those at bottom income quintile have been hit the very hardest. These are the very kids for whom college is the one shot they have for a better life. Although Allie has the skills, ambition and perseverance to make the dream of a college degree a reality, the question for her, and for millions of students like her comes down to cost.

While the cost of course materials is significantly smaller than the cost of college itself (typically estimated at about 1-2 percent of total college costs), McGraw-Hill is committed to doing our part to help. We know that cost concerns can cause students to delay or forego the purchase of textbooks altogether, which can have a significant negative effect on a student’s grades.

As a company, we are dedicated to unlocking the potential of each learner, regardless of economic status. We know there’s only one option. We must provide learning materials that are both high-quality and affordable. That’s why we are doing all we can to partner with educators and institutions to lower costs and drive better outcomes for students.

Over the past year, we’ve launched a number of initiatives to help us meet that goal, including:

• A rental program with providers including Amazon, Follett, Chegg, Barnes & Noble Education, indiCo, Nebraska Book Company, eCampus.com, Ambassador and Tree of Life, which enables students to access course materials for as low as $40, and up to 70 percent off the cost of purchasing traditional textbooks.
• Expansion of our Inclusive Access programs, which enable students to have affordable digital materials delivered to them on the first day of class (or earlier). We’ve doubled the number of institutions we’re reaching with these programs, which slash student costs by 30-40 percent for traditional digital materials, and are only a fraction of the cost of traditional textbooks.
• New digital offerings, including new additions and expansions to our industry-leading platforms McGraw-Hill Connect,  ALEKS and SIMnet, which not only are affordable but also have been shown to help students improve their classroom performance.

We’re proud of the progress that we’ve made, and that of others in the higher ed space as well. But we know there’s still more to be done. We must continue to increase affordability while also improving educational outcomes and helping students develop the critical thinking skills that are much needed in today’s workforce.

The work we can do in this area affects real lives and can make or break the futures of students just like Allie.