Global Shift to Online and Hybrid Learning Drives Strong Performance for McGraw Hill in Fiscal Q2 2021

Digital billings accounted for 58% of the company’s total billings in the last 12 months, and for 80% of billings in Higher Education, reflecting an increasing demand for digital learning solutions amid the pandemic

McGraw Hill reported strong preliminary fiscal Q2 2021 results today, with double-digit increases in both overall digital billings, as well as its quickly-expanding Inclusive Access program for colleges. The success is the result of McGraw Hill’s ongoing investment in digital learning solutions, the use of which has accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

HR Technology News: Zurich, Paladin Collaborate To Empower Pro Bono Services In COVID Era

“McGraw Hill’s strong performance over the past several months is a testament to the hard work and investment the company has made in digital learning solutions,” said Simon Allen, CEO of McGraw Hill. “Even as sales of print textbooks decline, McGraw Hill’s Higher Education digital business is growing at a rate that markedly outpaces that decline, thanks to our continued digital product expansion and our swift response to the demand for online learning brought on by the pandemic. By investing in smart, affordable and accessible digital learning tools, we are leading the industry in meeting the shifting needs of educators and students as they navigate the current challenging education environment.

“This long commitment to digital learning has allowed us to step in immediately to help instructors and administrators make the transition to new methods of teaching—all so students can continue to progress during the pandemic,” Allen said.

Key results in the preliminary fiscal Q2 2021 report include:

• Digital billings accounted for 58% of McGraw Hill’s total company billings in the last 12 months, compared with 51% in the prior period.
• Digital billings for McGraw Hill’s Higher Education group increased 18% year-over-year, and now account for 80 percent of total higher education billings.
• Billings through Inclusive Access, which delivers digital course materials to students on the first day of class at discounted rates of up to 70% off the retail cost of print textbooks, are up 50% year-over-year.
• Inclusive Access is now in place on more than 1,300 college campuses across the United States, an increase from 950 a year ago, reflecting the growing interest from both instructors and institutions in this model.

HR Technology News: NextSource And Shortlist Announce Partnership To Deliver Advanced Direct Sourcing Capabilities

McGraw Hill has accelerated development and investment in its digital platforms to offer timely solutions to meet the challenges of remote learning amidst the pandemic. So far in 2020, the company has announced a cutting-edge new writing assignment technology and a Virtual Labs product for its higher ed digital platform Connect, as well as an agreement with Proctorio to bring Proctorio’s remote proctoring and browser locking capabilities to McGraw Hill’s courseware. Use of McGraw Hill Connect has continued to expand across the higher education sector with 32% more activations in fiscal Q2 2021 compared with the same period in 2019. McGraw Hill also provided free access to its ALEKS Math Ready® program for two months to allow current and rising college students the opportunity to refresh their math skills efficiently and affordably ahead of the fall semester. Additionally, McGraw Hill recently partnered with the JED Foundation to provide JED’s mental health resources directly to college students, using McGraw Hill’s learning platforms in an effort to support the emotional health and wellbeing of students amid the challenges of the pandemic.

In the K-12 market, McGraw Hill introduced Rise, a new curriculum solution created to help educators identify and address students’ individual learning gaps, in particular, the learning loss caused as a result of COVID-19 disruption. The company has also continued to enhance its digital subscription-based Access solutions in the Professional market, with strong sales in the quarter.

HR Technology News: As Americans Age, Longer Retirements And Rising Costs Put Pressure On Financial Decision Making