National Geographic Learning Launches Subscription Service to Lower Costs and Increase Access to College-Level Courses

New Pathways Digital Subscription for AP, Honors, Electives and Career and Technical Education; Potential to Save Districts Up to 50%

News provided by

Cengage

Jan 07, 2019, 09:15 ET

BOSTON, Jan. 7, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- In a move designed to lower costs and increase access to college-level courses, National Geographic Learning (NGL), a part of Cengage, today announced a subscription service for high schools. The subscription, called Pathways, offers a curated collection of online educational programs for career and technical education (CTE) and Advanced Placement (AP), honors and electives.

Available immediately, school districts may purchase Pathways through an annual, per-student fee regardless of how many courses a student uses. For these districts, the cost of learning resources can be reduced by up to 50% compared to traditional solutions.

Pathways follows the successful launch of Cengage Unlimited, the first all-access subscription service for higher ed course materials. Pathways, while a different model designed for K12, is built on the same principles as Cengage Unlimited: affordable access to quality learning.

"Data from The College Board, the U.S. Department of Education and others show that students who are exposed to AP and career ed courses have fewer costs and more success in postsecondary education. Yet despite increased pressure to prepare their students for college and career success, many high school administrators put off buying materials due to lack of funds," said Vincent Grosso, SVP and Managing Director, NGL.

"We created Pathways to help districts address these budgetary constraints," Grosso continued. "The subscription approach will reduce both the up-front and long-term costs districts face in buying instructional materials."

In addition to savings, Pathways automatically provides updated content and platform capabilities. For example, in the past five years, the College Board has made several changes to the AP US History course. Had Pathways been available, there would have been no cost or inconvenience to schools in receiving newly updated programs aligned to the AP changes. This currency is also important in career courses considering how industries and technologies like Microsoft Office continually change.

"Even as more high schools use digital to engage students in instruction, they continue to adopt course content using a traditional textbook approach, usually once every six to twelve years," said Grosso. "By changing to a subscription model where courses and content can be easily added, tested, or changed, Pathways is now the only solution in the market allowing educators to fully embrace all that digital curriculum has to offer."

In August, Cengage announced the commercial availability of Cengage Unlimited, which offers complete access to more than 22,000 higher education digital course materials, including eBooks, online homework access codes and study guides.

To learn more about Pathways, go to NGL.Cengage.com/NGLPathways.

About Cengage and National Geographic Learning
Cengage is the education and technology company built for learners. The company serves the higher education, K-12, professional, library and workforce training markets worldwide. National Geographic Learning, a part of Cengage, is a provider of quality core and supplemental educational materials for the U.S. PreK‐12 market. Cengage and National Geographic Learning distribute a variety of content from the National Geographic Society to the academic and library markets worldwide. Visit us at www.cengage.com or NGL.Cengage.com/school.

Media Contact:
Kristina Massari
Cengage
(203) 965-8694
[email protected]

SOURCE Cengage