https://www.highereducationinquirer.org/2022/01/how-university-of-phoenix-failed-its.html
4 replies (most recent on top)
Oh heck yeah. At one point there was an entire sales force of at least $100mm in revenue a year focused on nothing but the for-profit sector.
Despite all the rhapsodizing about helping the student, Cengage and all publishers have been focused on making as much money as they can. If it's legal, you can't blame them.
Where it comes from and how they get it is completely irrelevant.
But to claim any sort of moral high ground is just so ridiculous. Publishing, especially book publishing has always been a dirty business at its core, wrapped in do-gooding.
I've witnessed many senior executives on December 15 or so willingly sell their souls to the devil to make a number.
As a former Cengage executive used to say..."there is no December 32nd."
The for-profit sector contained by far the sleaziest customers I have ever worked with. All they cared about was separating students from their money, and Cengage embraced them with both arms because they relied on for-profits for a large chunk of the company's revenue. We even went so far as to help the sector come up with ideas and schemes to rip students off. Cengage Unlimited was partly inspired by textbook schemes that the for profit sector cooked up to jam useless content down students' throat. This was all while MH was at the helm, which is why I laugh when he waxes on saving the students money and being a company focused on the student. We were focused on the student alright...focused on ripping them off.
Remember at one of the last NESes, one of the top brass said the subscription model was a hustle? There is your answer.
Here's what Cengage can learn. They will sell much less product to UoP than they did 10 years ago. Full stop.