Putting Students First – ASU/GSV Summit 2015

Confidential Material – Chegg Inc. © 2005 - 2015. All Rights Reserved.
Putting Students First
ASU/GSV Summit // April 7, 2015
Dan Rosensweig, CEO Chegg

Every Year
We come to ASU/GSV to
spotlight institutionalized
structures that perpetuate the
status-quo

WeDoThisBecausetheStatus Quo
IS NOT GOOD
Poor Outcomes. Insanely High Costs. Not Okay.
3

TwoYearsAgo:
we asked students to grade their school

“Just Graduated and Fumbling Through a First Job”
“Why millennials have a tough time landing a job”
“What’s an American degree worth?”
“To Reach the New Market for Education, Colleges have Some Learning to Do
“America’s Youngest Workers Destined for Failure
AYearAgo:
we looked at recent grads’ job-readiness

Today We’re Focused on
College Rankings
Harming Students & Institutions

190,000+
Internships listed
Achieving Scale
Means Chegg Has the Pulse of Students
15 M+
Students* reached
6 M
Textbooks delivered
$500+ M
Saved by students
1 M+
Digital Subscribers
10,000+
Online Tutors
*U.S. College Bound High School & College Students // Source: Data as of December 2014
75% of U.S. College Bound High School &
50% of U.S. College Students
Chegg
Reaches
7

College Students, n = 700
• Enrolled FT/PT in 4-year program
• Nationally representative*
• 43% male/57% female
Hiring Managers, n = 750
• Broad industries & job ranks
• Nationally representative
• 50% male/50% female
March 20 -27, 2015
Who did we talk to?
When did we talk with them?
*Data weighted to NCES norms
Research
Methodology
8

Source: Cheggheads Panel, 2015
77% 12% 11%
StudentsUseRankings,ButDon’tKnowWhatTheyMean
(and in the competitive college admissions space, every edge matters)
Important
Neutral
Unimportant
Q: How important were college rankings when you were deciding where to enroll?
9

Source: Average monthly searches for “College Rankings” based on Google Adwords, March 2015
U.S. NewsisourFocus
because it is by far the best known
10

Institutions Incented toInvestTimeand Moneyatthe
expense of their values and students’ best interests
“Bucknell U. Admits To Inflating SAT Scores”
“Amid Ranking Scandal, George Wash. Official Steps Down”
“Tulane U.’s Business School Admits Sending
Bogus Data to U.S.News & World Report”
“Officials Reflect on Falsified Admissions Data”
3/30/2013
12/12/2012
1/16/2013
2/21/2013
11

Confidential Material – Chegg Inc. © 2005 - 2015. All Rights Reserved. 12
“There is no question that
the system invites gaming…”
RICHARD FREELAND
Former President of Northeastern University

AnImpressiveClimb
what changed?
13
1
31
61
91
121
151
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
#120
#42

PEER ASSESSMENT
INCREASED SPENDING
SMALLER CLASS
SIZE
LOWER ACCEPTANCE RATE
Focused on networking
Invested in new dorms and other facilities
Lowered caps on classes to 19 students
Began accepting common application
LaserFocusonRankings
that have little to do with student outcomes
Tuition Rose Nearly 50% from 2005-2014
14

STOPPED
REPORTING
EMPHASIZED QUALITATIVE
ADMISSIONS CRITERIA
RIGHT-SIZED CLASSES
FREED THEIR STAFF
No data submitted to U.S. News since mid 90’s
Standardized testing scores are less important
No arbitrary caps on class size
Removed burden of giant questionnaire
& incentive to cheat
AnotherGreatSchool
playing its own game
15

NoGoodDeed
goes unpunished
16
#9Rank in US News #74
1983 2013

#RankingsFail: Reed is a Historical Outperformer in Producing PhDs
17
Source: National Science Foundation and Integrated Postsecondary Education Data Systems. 2001-2010 or 2003-2012
(http://www.reed.edu/ir/phd.html)
Undergraduate Origins of Doctoral Degrees

CollegeRankings
harming students and institutions
Let’s be (de)constructive…
18

College rankings
driven by factors tha
serve others
Benefit students
Benefit others
Benefit all
19
HS counselor & peer assessment • 23%
6 yr grad rate • 18%
Avg spend /student • 10%
Standardized test scores • 8%
6 yr grad rate vs predicted grad rate • 8%
Faculty Salary • 7%
Classes <20 students • 6%
Alumni donation rate • 5%
Freshman retention rated • 5%
Top X% of class • 3%
Professors w/ highest degree • 3%
Classes >50 students • 2%
Acceptance rate • 1%
Full time faculty • 1%
Student/faculty ratio • 1%

College rankings
Let’s look at
the top 7…
80%
Benefit students
Benefit others
Benefit all
20

*National U.S.
21
100k high schools, 16M students,
student to HS counselor ratio
is 500:1 nationally*
7% of ranking is HS Counselors,
16% is peer rankings
Rewards institutions that lobby others
WhyareHSCounselors
and peers most important?
How can HS Counselors assess national
colleges nationwide?
How can College Presidents, Provosts
and Deans assess competitors without
actually experiencing the school?
What does their ranking actually mean
anymore?
Why not ask employers, grad and
business schools about reputation?
They know the finished product best .

Confidential Material – Chegg Inc. © 2005 - 2015. All Rights Reserved. 22
JAMIE RYDER
Campbell High School counselor
Smyrna, Georgia
“If caseloads were smaller, I could do a lot more….”
“We can help them, We just don’t know what their
issues are because we don’t see them.”

Is it a 4 year degree or isn’t it?
Measuring 6 year grad rates rewards
schools for systematically taking more time
(and money) from students
 Avg Student Debt Up ~3x since 1990
Let’s Reward Schools Whose Infrastructure
Actively Supports Faster Graduation Rates
In1990 CongressMade
6 year grad rates the norm?!

• Academic Support:
• Libraries, Museums, Galleries are included in
this category
• Instruction
• Research
• Big spends not applicable to most undergrads
• Student Services
• Includes admissions and registrar expenses
• Does NOT include spending on
Career Services
AvgSpending/Student
includes some broad categories*
(Source: US News http://www.usnews.com/education/best-
colleges/articles/2014/09/08/how-us-news-calculated-the-2015-best-colleges-
*Expenditure categories defined by National Center for Education Statistics
(Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System – IPEDS)
Financial resources: U.S. News
measures financial resources by
using the average spending per
student on instruction, research,
student services and related
educational expenditures in the
2012 and 2013 fiscal years.
Spending on sports, dorms and
hospitals doesn't count.

Dotestscoresreflect
instructional quality?
Scores reflect incoming class not quality of univ.
They are strong predictor of household income
Poor predictor of college or career success
Tells prospective students little about outcomes
Students are more than test scores!

Faculty resourcesare20% of
rankings
 Do any of these criteria move the needle on:
 Student access to required classes?
 Office hour availability?
 Instructional quality?
 Breadth and depth of curriculum?
The faculty measures are more a reflection
of professors’ length of service than it is a
measure of the quality of instruction.

What students care about
& what employers care about
(interestingly enough, they align)
WHAT SHOULD RANKINGS FOCUS ON:

Q: What are the main reasons you decided to go to college?
73% 71%
57%
43%
32%
Gain greater
earning
potential
Be ready to
work
Become strong
critical thinker
Get broad
general
education
Gain skills
employers value &
willing to pay for
Source: Improving Student Outcomes, Crux Research, March 2014
Get
employed
67%
Remember…
students go to college for jobs & money

79% 79% 78%
75%
72%
Source: Cheggheads Panel, 2015
Studentswant
rankings that predict real outcomes
Actual Costs vs
My Ability to Pay
Access to
scholarships
Access to
internships
Get a job in my
major in 1 year
Academic
support from
my school

Do they consider college rankings
when hiring recent grads?
WHAT ABOUT EMPLOYERS?

College rankings
are not important to employers
93% 7%
ImportantUnimportant
Q: How important is college rank in your campus recruiting decisions?
Source: Chegg Employers Study, 2015

Q: How important (very / extremely) is it for a recent college graduate to have each of the
following in order to succeed in their first job at your organization?
93%
86%
71%
65%
Source: Chegg Employers Study, 2015
Employerslookfor
communication & passion
Social Skills Passion for field
of study
Being
well-rounded
A degree from
any college

 Make rankings relevant
 Quit feeding the beast
Ranking criteria should be radically altered
 Free colleges from obsessing over rankings
Focus on what benefits students
 Educate students and parents to seek out
right school match
Whatshouldwedo
to improve student outcomes

8considerations
for ranking 1. Cost & ROI, Grad rate in 4 years, Employability
2. Quality of educator
3. Freshmen retention rate
4. Use of technology to increase access to curriculum
5. Teaching hours per student
6. Schools ability to provide support
7. Ability to provide career guidance
8. Support to build skills, not just core curriculum

THANK YOU!
Questions?

Putting Students First – ASU/GSV Summit 2015

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