Building Effective Business Models for Tutoring and Supplemental Services

Moderator:Michaël Bijaoui, Managing Director, MESA

Panelists:Farimah Schuerman, Managing Partner, Academic Business AdvisorsBarry Lippman, CEO, LearningExpress, LLCBurck Smith, CEO, SMARTHINKING

• Technology has enabled multiple changes in the delivery of tutoring and individualized supplemental services

• This has spurred changes both in the offer and demand of learning services

• How have the K12, HE, Reference and Corporate markets adjusted

Overview of Business Models

Farimah Schuerman

Managing Partner

Academic Business Advisors, LLC

Definitions and Key Questions

• How do we define it?

• Who is the end user?

• Who is the buyer?

• What is the unique value proposition?

• Who or what is the provider?

• How do they pay?

Barry Lippman

President and CE0LearningExpress, LLC

Company Facts• Founded in 1995 to provide customizable learning

solutions for the educational and professional markets

• Currently helps over 1.5 million students and adult learners each year

• Maintains 13 statewide contracts• Online programs in over 5,000 schools and 4,000

public libraries• 2008 CODiE Award Winner and 2009 CODiE Finalist

Libraries &Post

Secondary

K-12 Education

Consumer/ Publishing

Folio

Hand-scored benchmark writing assessments

eFolio

Online, instantly-scored classroom writing improvement program

LearningExpress Library™

Over 800 Online interactive practice tests and skill building tutorials for:

• Job search and workplace skills

• Career certification

• College prep

• GED prep

• Basic skills improvement

• Computer skills and more…

LearningExpress Books

Over 200 titles in print ranging from skills improvement, career skills and test preparation

Learn-A-Test

Individual online access to practice tests and courses

e-Learning Centers

Basic skills remediation, college prep and career readiness courses and practice tests

Proving Value for Supplemental Services

Burck Smith

What We Do• SMARTHINKING’s online tutoring service helps colleges, high schools and publishers

attract and keep students and customers.

• StraighterLine’s online courses help schools recruit new students and provide more affordable, better supported, more flexible general education courses for college students.

• We deliver our offerings to students through one of four channels:

1. Institutional sales

2. Bundled services with our textbook publisher partners

3. Custom programs

4. Consumer direct

SMARTHINKING Business Model• SMARTHINKING’s tutoring service is delivered as an academic support program or as

an enterprise platform for academic institutions

• 400+ clients across all elements of high school and college education. Strong presence in community colleges and for-profit schools

StraighterLine Business Model• Consumer: Upon course completion, degree completion will happen with a partner

college.

• Institutional: Colleges can enroll their own students in these courses at a discount. This will enable colleges to:– Outsource remedial math and writing courses– Quickly create an online general education curriculum.– Better manage over and under-subscription problems– Facilitate new program creation.

General – Tutoring works (Maxwell, 1990). Tutoring from trained tutors works better

(Boylan, Bonham & Bliss, 1995). Tutoring from trained tutors at the moment of need works best (Mandernach, 2005).

Published Client Studies about SMARTHINKING– Math, Broward CC -- Avg. grades improved 16 points (33%)– Writing, Kapiolani CC – Avg. writing grades improved 16%. Student pass rates

increased 12%. More use = better grades.– Writing, Open University of Australia – 80% of ST users passed compared to

35% of non-users. ST users 10% more likely to be retained to the next term.

SMARTHINKNIG Student Survey Results (Fall 2007)– 87% Rated the tutor highly– 89% Rated the technology highly– 92% would recommend the service to a friend

Evidence

Questions

Moderator:Michaël Bijaoui, Managing Director, MESA

Panelists:Farimah Schuerman, Managing Partner, Academic Business AdvisorsBarry Lippman, CEO, LearningExpress, LLCBurck Smith, CEO, SMARTHINKING