McGraw Hill Reports Strong Growth in Digital Billings and Use of Its Technology Platforms After a Year Impacted by COVID-19

NEW YORK, N.Y.  (June 24, 2021) – McGraw Hill reported strong fiscal Q4 and 2021 results today, with double-digit year-over-year growth in digital billings and a 58% increase in Inclusive Access billings. This latest success reflects McGraw Hill’s continued focus on developing digital learning platforms and materials that are affordable and drive better student outcomes, and its commitment to supporting institutions, educators and learners during a time of digital transition.

In fiscal year 2021 (FY21) which comprised the 12 months ended on March 31, over 1,400 campuses across the U.S. participated in Inclusive Access programs with McGraw Hill, up from 1,100 a year prior. The U.S. Department of Education paved the way for Inclusive Access programs by adopting a regulation that allows institutions to offer students a choice to acquire more affordable course materials on or before the first day of class. During FY21, students using McGraw Hill course materials via Inclusive Access saved more than $150 million. This supports the continuing years-long trend of students in higher education acquiring high-quality course materials at a significantly lower cost.

The past year also saw continued increased demand for McGraw Hill eBooks, a cost-effective alternative to print textbooks that further reduced students’ course material costs. McGraw Hill’s flagship digital learning platform for higher education, Connect, also saw significant growth in FY21 with a 27% year-over-year increase in student activations to more than 6 million globally last year.

“McGraw Hill’s strong performance during this challenging year reflects our continued commitment to delivering the best possible educational materials and experiences for students, whether they are learning in a classroom, remotely via digital platforms or some combination,” said Simon Allen, CEO of McGraw Hill. “Throughout the last year, we worked hard to successfully meet the increased demand for digital products brought on by the pandemic. McGraw Hill continues to adapt to the changing times by delivering learning tools that are not only cutting-edge but also affordable and accessible.”

Additional results in the fiscal year 2021 report include:

• Digital billings were up 10% year-over-year across the entirety of the company’s business
• McGraw Hill reached an inflection point where growth in digital billings outpace decline in print billings
• Inclusive Access sales reached $167 million, representing a 58% increase year over year

Throughout this fiscal year, McGraw Hill announced a series of updates to its offerings designed to help students succeed in a remote learning environment. These included:

• Virtual Labs, an online or hybrid lab solution for college science courses that thousands of instructors used to help them continue their lab courses online during the pandemic.
• ALEKS, the artificial intelligence-enabled learning and assessment platform for math and chemistry, added new functionality that makes it easier for instructors to integrate into a wider range of teaching approaches.
• McGraw Hill Rise, a grades 3–8 assessment solution designed to help educators identify and address learning gaps for students
• A partnership with the Online Learning Consortium (OLC) through which McGraw Hill faculty consultants and staff are certified to help instructors build effective OLC-aligned courses.