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ScienceDirect High School Access Program:
Strengths, Challenges and Opportunities
About the Study
In 1999, Elsevier introduced the industry-leading scientific, technical and medical information solution ScienceDirect to several New York City high schools. The program was designed to expose students and faculty to the same depth of scientific information as was available to researchers at the university level.
The number of high schools now participating in the ScienceDirect High School Access Program exceeds 70 across the US. Enthusiastic feedback from participating schools encouraged us to expand our initial offer of the program to high schools throughout the US and more recently to high schools in Europe.
As the program celebrates its tenth anniversary, we are reviewing the program’s accomplishments and developing strategies for the program’s global implementation.
As an important part of our review of the ScienceDirect High School Access Program, at the end of 2008, we commissioned the independent research organization Collaborative Research Associates (CRA) to look at the program’s use and impacts. The objective was to gain from librarians, teachers and students participating in the program insights into how ScienceDirect is being used and how it is affecting students' academic performance and life choices.
This white paper summarizes findings provided by CRA; these summaries do not necessarily represent the views of Elsevier. All research commissioned by Elsevier is conducted under strict market research codes of conduct. For more information on CRA, please see page 23.
For Elsevier, the biggest take-aways from the study are these findings:
- Use of ScienceDirect is benefiting not only students in science research programs but also students in classes outside such programs and across the curriculum.
- Students participating in the program report a desire to access ScienceDirect fulltext content beyond that to which the program gives them access. Hence, we understand that students are finding ScienceDirect so useful that they want access to more of its content.
As you read this paper, I trust that you too will find it offers insights worthy of consideration.
Rochelle Gore
Director of Sales, North America/Global In-House Account Sales
Elsevier, New York, NY, USA
r.gore@elsevier.com
Rochelle Gore
Since joining Elsevier in 1996, Rochelle Gore has held roles in sales and marketing focusing on the academic, corporate and medical markets. She currently serves as the sales director for global in-house sales for North America. The Global In-house Account Sales team, which she heads, specializes in strategic sales to academic markets, including in particular two- and four-year colleges. Rochelle also serves as the program director for the Science Direct High School Access Program.
