Putting Students First – ASU/GSV Summit 2015

Confidential Material – Chegg Inc. © 2005 - 2015. All Rights Reserved.

Putting Students FirstASU/GSV Summit // April 7, 2015 Dan Rosensweig, CEO Chegg


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


We Do This Because the Status QuoIS NOT GOOD

Poor Outcomes. Insanely High Costs. Not Okay.

Sources: 1 NY Federal Reserve; 2 Bureau of Labor Statistics; 3 Voice of the Graduate (McKinsey and Chegg); 4 National Center for Education Statistics 3


Two Years Ago: 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

A Year Ago:we looked at recent grads’ job-readiness


Today We’re Focused onCollege Rankings

Harming Students & Institutions


190,000+Internships listed

Achieving Scale Means Chegg Has the Pulse of Students

15 M+Students* reached

6 MTextbooks delivered

$500+ MSaved 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

ResearchMethodology

8

Confidential Material – Chegg Inc. © 2005 - 2015. All Rights Reserved.Source: Cheggheads Panel, 2015

77% 12% 11%

Students Use Rankings, But Don’t Know What They Mean

(and in the competitive college admissions space, every edge

matters)

ImportantNeutral

Unimportant

Q: How important were college rankings when you were deciding where to enroll?

9

Confidential Material – Chegg Inc. © 2005 - 2015. All Rights Reserved.Source: Average monthly searches for “College Rankings” based on Google Adwords, March 2015

U.S. News is our Focusbecause it is by far the best known

10


Institutions Incented to Invest Time and Money at the 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 FREELANDFormer President of Northeastern University


An Impressive Climbwhat changed?

132005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

1

31

61

91

121

151

#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

Laser Focus on Rankingsthat 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

Another Great Schoolplaying its own game

15


No Good Deedgoes unpunished

16#9Rank in US News #74

1983 2013


#RankingsFail: Reed is a Historical Outperformer in Producing PhDs

17Source: 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


College Rankingsharming students and institutions

Let’s be (de)constructive…18


College rankingsdriven by factors that serve others

Benefit students

Benefit others

Benefit all19

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 rankingsLet’s look at the top 7…

80%

Benefit students

Benefit others

Benefit all20









*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

Why are HS Counselorsand 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 RYDERCampbell 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.”








Classes <20 students • 6%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

In 1990 Congress Made6 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

Avg Spending/Studentincludes 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-rankings?page=4)

*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.









Do test scores reflect 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 resources are 20% 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

Students wantrankings that predict real outcomes

Actual Costs vs My Ability to

Pay

Access to scholarship

s

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 rankingsare 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

Employers look forcommunication & passion

Social Skills Passion for field of study

Beingwell-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

What should we doto improve student outcomes


8 considerationsfor 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?