Student Focus - Associate Content Developer Cengage Employee Review

3.0
7 May 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Cengage is trying really hard to change the way a traditional "textbook publisher" would have thought--rather than only doing what instructors want since they are the decision-makers, Cengage has shifted to a student-focused and -driven company. While they know instructors are critical to the process, they try to make all changes with students in mind. Will it help them, teach them, empower them, develop them, etc.? Is Cengage meeting students where they're at?

Cons

As with any of the companies, Cengage has been hit with rough times and continues to undergo various reorganizations. This often means lay-offs. In addition, Cengage is not often a transparent company. Changes happen and they're not clearly explained, if explained at all. People leave the company who you work with often and you may not know until they're already gone and they no longer email you back.

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Cengage Response
10y
Thank you for highlighting our student-focused strategy. It is essential to transforming education. As we continue our own company’s transformation, change can easily lead to uncertainty. Transparency is vital in combating that. I understand your skepticism, given how the term “transparency” might be used elsewhere, but I feel it’s important to share information. I hope you will keep an open mind about this. However, it sounds like you may have had some changes in colleagues that you weren’t aware of in a timely way. It is indeed important to let people know and in the right order. In addition to messages from myself and members of our team, I encourage you to sign up for our “Comings and Goings” RSS feed/blog for updates. As the title suggests, it offers the level of detail that I suspect you are seeking. The manager of each individual is also noted, should you wish to reach out with further questions. You can learn how to sign up from the home page of Inside (lower left of the page). If you are still uncertain, our help desk can walk you through it. Thanks again for your post.

Explore other reviews about Cengage

3.0
4 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Company has some interesting approaches to the market and in the past they seemed value employees. There are some good employees there and there was, in the past, visionary leadership, but the people with the vision and leadership skills left the company a few years ago.

Cons

The company actively de-values employees. They had a project they called "Project Horizon" where they told all employees they needed to cut costs, so the company was going to have multiple layoffs over 3-5 years - but nobody was allowed to know when, where, or why - - just one day large swaths of people would be gone. That hung over everyone's heads - for years, and is indicative of how Cengage values employees - it doesn't. Everything is about trying to secure new funding and prepare for an IPO, so they stopped investing significantly in the products about 3 years ago and that's about when they stopped acting like they cared about employee wellness as well.

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