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McGraw-Hill Global Education Holdings review: Grading errors 32

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1:17 am EST
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As a student of ysu studying the fundamentals of physics, i have been appalled at the usability of mcgraw hill's connect website and it's supposed grade tracking.
Basic formatis as follows;
Questions are answered using the interactive medium with mcgraw hill's connect signalling a correct answer. The answer is saved and allows the user to continue to complete the following questions. If the assignment is not finished then it is saved to be continued at a later date.
The error begins here. Once submitted the website has a hard time recognising previous questions that have been answered correctly and will not credit for all of these answers. Therefore the grade is not correct! The answer will still be showing within the user interactive screen and when the check answer button is pressed the website will say "please answer question" (Even though it has been there all along) . Multiple submissions will cause the error to "run" through to different questions. It will take a user at least half an hour to re - submit every question in one session just to get the website to recognise all of the correct answers.
Not only is this messing up students actual grades but the website is slow and laborious to load.
Mcgraw - hill connect complaints division make it a time consuming task to file complaints and then after waiting for days (Assignments are then already locked) they say they cannot recreate the same error! No kidding! Recommend to not use mcgraw hill connect for student grades try pearson instead!

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The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

32 comments
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John Tile
, US
Nov 04, 2018 2:20 pm EST

This is the worst education software there is. The ebook is difficult to navigate, the homework and exams are inconsistently graded and the help is not helpful. I would not use this software if I didn't have to by my school. And, I am adult user so I can tell you their customer service is awful. They make you pay too much for what they provide.

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Aarushi Verma
, US
Oct 15, 2018 5:13 pm EDT

Hi Team

I have completed this assignment but this is the message that has been on display for nearly 10 minutes now. It took me 40 minutes ti do this.

Would request you to look into such glitches
image.png

Regards

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Parhelion
, US
Jul 21, 2016 4:40 pm EDT

I cannot abide this line of McGraw-Hill Connect textbooks. It is very obvious from the poor editing of these texts, the dreadfully written and typo-laden quiz questions, the lack of useful e-features, the technical clunk and frequent bugs, the downright insulting "motivating" features, the marketing material McGraw-Hill itself provides, and so many, many other bits of evidence that my money is subsidizing efforts to sell this text to professors as making their lives easier with a gloss of pseudo-scientific research rather than going toward creating a decent textbook.

Now that I've suffered through my second class with one of these terrible texts, I've written my college to tell them I will take no future section or course using one of these texts. I'm also going to try getting the student slot on the advisory committee that discusses curriculum. I think I have a shot since I'm Phi, nobody usually wants the job, and I spent some time both writing test materials and at one of the big book retailer's corporate offices a few years back before I returned for another degree. Wish me luck!

In short, if I worked at McGraw-Hill, I'd be embarrassed by this fell-off-the-back-of-a-dollar-store-truck line of textbooks. I really, really would.

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Latte
, US
May 29, 2011 5:55 pm EDT

I purchased a book from an American company called "The McGraw-Hill Companies". On my order form it said that shipping was free, on that basis I purchased the book. I then received an invoice from this company stating that they had debited my account $47.05. The cost of the book was $19.99 and shipping was $27.06.When I sent them an email about this, it was pointed out to me that there was a Disclaimer on the billing information page and that the cost was not yet determined. A check of my order revealed that it was still being processed. When this was pointed out to them they replied stating that they were sorry and it was a misunderstanding.No effort was made by them to reimburse me. So watch out for this company they are sharks. I have heard nothing since from them.

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Madhav Desai
, US
Feb 28, 2016 4:05 pm EST

I see where you are trying to go with this program but there are a lot of errors that developers, coders, and technical support need to fix. Some of the answers to the questions are wrong. this raely happens but it does happen. The biggest issue I am having is that the program kicks me out during the middle of a quiz or stalls for a prolonged period of time. this is a huge issue especially when the examination is timed. FIx this! This is the second semester I have had to use this and I will be so happy when I dont have to use this garbage anymore! You all could also make the navigation within the program more ergonomical. If you are going to charge the prices you charge make it worth it!

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Finance_Student
, US
Sep 06, 2015 2:49 pm EDT

The whole Connect/Ebook/Textbook thing is a sham for money, like every other textbook out there, so no need to beat a dead horse(not that I'm happy about spending >:( . As far as online modules go, Connect is the worse one I've used thus far. It's very difficult to navigate for reading purposes. The memory module is very graphics-heavy and memory intensive and prone to randomly slowing down and feeling clunky. I ended up renting a used copy of the book that's much easier to read, take notes & study from. The homework/assignment portion is not as intuitive or intelligent as advertised, but it's works well enough for studying purposes, especially if you're on the computer alot. It's a step up from using flash cards or notes for studying.

It's definitely over-priced. I would recommended renting/buying the textbook for cheap if you can. The online version of this thing is very frustrating to use.

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nursebb
, US
Sep 04, 2015 11:56 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Yup. I spent 2 1/2 hours on the phone with customer service trying to fix the connection between Blackboard and Connect (grades weren't syncing) - this should be a quick fix, some IT person who click here and clicks there and types some code and boom! But no... they just wasted my time and walked me through the same garbage attempts to fix it that I had already tried myself in much less time. They should be ashamed of themselves.

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Margie W
, US
Jul 09, 2015 12:04 pm EDT

Having to stop taking a Financial Accounting class due to a busy Springtime, I had signed up for Connect, started the class for about 1 hour, decided then and there couldn't do it online, and would need to stop the class. Prior to stopping it, I called McGraw Hill and asked about the access code, how long it was good for...was told 1 year. Nothing more was said (like, it is not transferable to another student...) Due to erroneous information I opted out of the class, thinking that I could then sell the book and that their code was good. Wrong! I went to sell the book to the bookstore at the end of the term and was told since I had used the code, they couldn't buy it because it wasn't usable by anyone else.
I called McGraw Hill, went over in detail the above, asked that a Supervisor call me back...they did, however, they chose each time not to leave a message (who in Customer Service doesn't leave a message?) So a week goes by...I call back. Basically I was told that I was screwed, that even though they gave me poor information when I called in April. There was nothing they could do.
What a crappy company. They don't back their products...the system is awful, which is why I didn't want to continue with it in the first place. AVOID their PRODUCTS like the plague.

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Dr. Dale Norris
New Orleans, US
May 18, 2015 12:38 am EDT

My experience with ConnectMath in a statistics class was an absolute nightmare!

First, the site is very poorly designed in that you could never/ seldom see the entire problem on the screen, only about 2/3. Consequently you spent far more time scrolling than you did solving the problem. Second, the inordinate amount of your time spent clicking and such to make the graphs, frequency distributions, etc. was far more laborious than beneficial. Third, the time spent to sort through all those problems was not productive time - meaning all that clicking and so forth did not lead you to an enhanced understanding but, instead, was just wasted time. And finally, there were so many errors on that site that were simply inexcusable.

I'm an older student and have another science class coming up next term with Connect and I hope it's better. At least now I know what to expect.

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Dr. Dale Norris
New Orleans, US
May 14, 2015 5:24 pm EDT

My experience with Connect Math was a disaster from hell!. I can relate to the questions having answers that were flatly wrong, but my experience was that the time involved to complete the work was not worth the trouble. In a statistics class, when it comes to frequency distributions and such, you could complete them much more quickly on paper than all that click, drag, drop, etc. In addition to that, the time spent did not get you any closer to mastering the concept - it was just a lot of time wasted "messing with" the electronics. And - the worst part - was that the site is so poorly designed that you could never see more than about 2/3 of the problem at any time - so you were constantly scrolling back and forth, up and down -- time wasted not learning much or completing much. I have been a teacher for 35 years and hold a doctorate. I am NOT impressed with Connect.

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WccStudent
, US
May 11, 2015 9:51 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Everything about McGraw Hill screams poor quality: the phone, website, and online chat help are not usable. The program itself is barely usable. I work with computer systems for a living. These people need to bow their heads in shame for creating such a horrid product!

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jruzzel
Myrtle Beach, US
Oct 22, 2014 8:03 pm EDT

I hate McGraw Hill Connect. I'm typically a straight A student and I got a D in a easy marketing class because this website is so awful. Half of the homework problems never showed up and tech support for this company is horrendous. I called twice, chatted online with several representatives and sent numerous emails to get absolutely NOTHING fixed. I would highly recommend anyone thinking about taking this class to completely rethink that. It's so bad and literally the biggest waste of my time ever.

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juliio101
, CA
Oct 02, 2014 7:32 pm EDT

This company is the worst company ever. They make you pay for sturff that you don't even use and they overcharge you only because they can.

I paid twice for the same access code, same class, same teacher because I had to make some adjustments to my schedule due to work. For now we are only students sooooo they can abuse us.

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bkne
Euclid, US
Sep 23, 2014 12:39 pm EDT

i hate this program and the customer service sucks. I called on sep 1 just got an email back on Sep 18 telling me to call customer service what a joke

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jay781
Boston, US
Jul 08, 2014 3:01 pm EDT

F this ###

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jay781
Boston, US
Jul 08, 2014 2:57 pm EDT

Mcgraw connect is a nightmare! I am taking A&PI right now.. and it was a very dreadful decision. It is slow, and laborious and it glitches all the time. As of right now, I have switched from computer computer just to see if the problem I have on connect will go away, but it hasn't. Using this program is exhausting and it consumes a lot of time because I'm constantly waiting for something to load. Connect has also been reducing my average score little by little everyday for no reason what so ever. This is a major problem. I will never take a class that will involve Connect ever again in my college years.

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Frustrated!!!!!!
Barnstable, US
Jun 23, 2014 7:19 pm EDT

The biggest complaint from me is that it's a ripoff! They promote A "free"trial for an access code and tell you after the trial expiration you will be able to purchase either just the code for $80, or a code with the ebook for $125. Once the trial expired, the only option they give you is the one with the ebook! I do not need the ebook! I have a text book which is from the same publisher.
I feel violated and misled and misinformed. I called customer service and I was told the product was discontinued and there is nothing they can do to honor the "promise". I have to buy the full access! I'm so disappointed and disgusted . I have never had such a bad customer service experience. Never ever any company have a promise and didn't keep it.
Really really frustrated and disappointed.

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sonographystudent
, US
Jun 17, 2014 1:12 am EDT

I'm trying to get into a sonography program and of course I have to do a lot of blasted prerequisites. I'm doing Anatomy and Physiology II right now. I took part I online in the spring without Connect (all we used was the Holes Human Anatomy and Physiology book from McGraw Hill - no Connect) and did all of the labs hands on from home, uploaded the labs to Blackboard as Word files, did some posts on a discussion board for participation, read through some teacher lectures on the material, and the tests were also all on Blackboard. Did fine, got a B and I was happy.

Now I'm taking part II right now this summer and this teacher I have now is using Connect. It sucks. You do the readings on Connect and have to answer over 100 questions on what you read for each chapter and it takes forever to load - you have to refresh every half hour because it slows down. The practice quizzes are a joke. They use APR Revealed and Ph.I.L.S for our simulated labs and those both suck too. Ph.I.L.S. - you do the simulated labs and then answer questions and then a lab report is automatically generated. On at least one of the labs I've done so far, the questions I did for the lab showed up on my PDF file when I saved it but the page where the lab report was supposed to be? The writing was cut off! I uploaded the PDF files to Blackboard anyway and the teacher said it was okay, just go ahead and post it, but seriously...and she didn't even know why the writing was cut off on my lab report on my Ph.I.L.S PDF file.

Oh, and here's the real kicker. I took my first Unit test on three of the chapters last night and failed it. Half of the questions were drag and drop and most of those were pictures of histology slides and structures that are not even in the book at all. And we had to label them. Plus we had only an hour to do 45 questions and it took forever for the site to load. If half the test is going to be drag and drop questions over stuff that isn't even in the book and then the site takes forever to load on top of that, there is no way at all you can finish a test in 45 minutes.

I e-mailed my teacher about it but I just have a feeling she is going to tell me that's just how it is. Which means I will have to drop this class and take it again in the fall with a different teacher that doesn't use Connect. That puts a monkey wrench in my plans because I'm trying to get my prerequisites done this year so I can apply for my program in 2015.

I'm sorry, but I signed up for an instructor-led online class and the classes I've had that were instructor-led I have done very well in so far. They make you jump through so many hoops to get into an Allied Health program as it is and with websites like Connect, which more and more teachers are using as the lazy approach to teaching (little to no work or instruction is involved on the instructor end), it's no wonder so many people end up getting so frustrated and simply drop out of school. I have no intention of dropping out - I'll switch classes and find someone who doesn't use Connect, but it's totally unfair and a waste of our tuition dollars and money buying that silly access code for a class taught by McGraw Hill, which is virtually doing all of the work for the teacher while he or she sits on their laurels and does nothing and collects a paycheck for teaching us nothing. I didn't sign up for a self-study class and I had no idea this was going to be like that. I should have came here first and read this before I signed up for a class that uses Connect - I may have been able to get into another summer class if I'd done that.

This is why our education system is going down the drain while other countries are outshining us in math and science.

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Surlygrrrly
, US
Apr 11, 2014 5:55 am EDT

At last! A place where people are telling the truth about this product. This product is nothing but a time wasting, busy work exercise. I spend hours upon hours on these McGraw-Hill assignments and quizzes and cannot get good grades on them, despite the fact that I get straight As on all other aspects of the course. I am pretty smart, but no amount of studying can help you with this because there are so many flaws. As others have said, there are typos all over the place, correct answers marked wrong, horribly written questions, and no recourse to correct anything or alert anyone of the problem. The program also freezes up constantly, harasses you into allowing it access to your computer without EVER explaining to you why it wants to do that, and it NEVER functions properly when you hit the button to go back to your class's website.

I have also been an instructor who has been given the hard sell by McGraw-Hill reps to adopt their online "learning" products. They really push this, claiming that it is "proven" but I have yet to see any evidence of that. The only evidence offered are the promo materials made by the company itself. It is all a big marketing scam.

Another interesting thing is that there is virtually nothing online about these issues. McGraw-Hill has done such a good job controlling its reputation online that you will not find anything negative about them. This website is one of only 2 negative results I can find about McGraw-Hill.

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Upsetstudent23
, US
Mar 07, 2014 8:24 pm EST

Taking it for a business class and I know something isn't right quiz grades have odd patterns and when you answer a majority of questions you know are right because it's open book quizzes and you still somehow get a bad grade is just baffling and frustrating.

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pmppmp
, US
Nov 21, 2013 5:17 pm EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

WOW! The WORST online program I have ever experienced with. Totally unorganized, and customer service is helpless. What a disappointment. My advice for people considering using this program, don't even consider it. I have wasted so much time registering and trying to get a hold of customer service. I rarely do reviews unless it's a product I really like or strongly dislike. And this is just awful.

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wheresteddy
Eugene, US
Nov 20, 2013 3:20 pm EST

I'm using this for my Microeconomics class as well. The thing that I don't like is that the questions all seem to be trick questions for the most part. I'm never taking an online class ever again because of this awful piece of junk. I'm not even using the book, just the webnotes that my school makes, which are probably more explanatory than the book in easy to understand terms and explanations. Never take this awful junk. I-Learn on Brainhoney is awesome though. Sometimes it messes up too, but it's much better.

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NJGirl02
Port Murray, US
Oct 01, 2013 6:44 pm EDT

I have NEVER been so frustrated taking a class before. It's appalling to be honest. I can tell you that any professor that uses McGraw Connect has never attempted to use it for themselves because if they did they would realize all of it's flaws. I'm about to drop the course because I can't take it. It's a waste of money and my time and I have no idea how anyone uses this.

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Parvaneh
Ottawa, CA
Sep 09, 2013 10:02 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I agree with everything negative about McGraw Hill Connect. I really like the idea of completing homework online, but this program is horrible. It is not only waste of time but also waste of money as well. I don't think most professors care that much, and the few that do probably don't have enough "power" to convince the schools to stop requiring this product.

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njkerr
Fort Meade, US
Jul 28, 2013 9:13 pm EDT
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I too am using McGraw Connect Plus for a finance class at Liberty. I have brought to my professors attention several incidences of wrong "guided examples" and even the system scoring wrong. I even had a tutor (tutor.com) look over and tell me the same.

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Sirdrake
Senatobia, US
Jul 07, 2013 4:54 pm EDT

I agree with everything negative about McGraw Hill Connect. I have taken A&P three (3) times due to my teachers, college and McGraw-Hill's ignorance. The first semester, LearnSmart was giving my grades to another student. I asked the teacher what's going on, and where are my grades. She didn't answer that under mid-terms, still not a lot of help. McGraw-Hill's technical support is embarrassing. One tech support told me to do what he tells all the other students, check your flash player. The second semester, My grades on Connect are wrong or I can't get logged in, this has cost me my grades getting behind in other classes. The third semester, the college actually offered free summer class of A&P. The program is doing the same thing, wrong answers and problems logging in. There has to be an answer to this, other than McGraw-Hill doesn't know anything, it works just fine. If it worked just fine, why do I have over 24 conf. #'s that part of one semester? Now, I've totally lost count and I will not ever call McGraw-Hill for anything. Because they have no idea. I'm still dealing with this subject, and really tired of this. I should have been finished the first semester. Guess, the college wanted me to hang around so they could make more money off of me. The money line stops here. Wish I really knew how to handle this the correct and legal way.

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Svechka
Chicago, US
Jan 29, 2013 12:04 am EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I really like the idea of completing homework online, but this program is horrible. They have mistakes in every assignment. Not only it wastes my time but also spoils my grade. How did you manage to do so many mistakes people? Moreover, reposting the problem is the longest procedure I have ever seen. Why can't you just have a little button right next to every assignment that says "report a problem"? is it done on purpose. I did report a problem once and it took me 30 minutes to dil out a huge application. Not going to do that again. If you guys don't change you will loose many customers!

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charkswim
, US
Sep 01, 2012 7:25 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I am an instructor who as DISCONNECTED from CONNECT for many of the reasons plus many others. It is a generally flawed product and people at McGraw-Hill are in DENIAL over the limitations. I am now DISCONNECTED and my problems are over.

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ACE1001
Tomball, US
Sep 01, 2012 4:06 pm EDT

I completely agree. How odd it is the upper level students that truly recognize this as an issue not of the professor as much as it is of this poor program that is very flawed. Just the same - the professors are getting countless complaints I am sure of it, and are still using it in some way shape or form is just asking for headaches. There site is trash.. been fighting with it for HOURS to complete a 26 question practice quiz and it wont move to the next question... just gets stuck in waiting mode and eventually crashes. After multiple attempts (for hours) trying to sign back in and filling out their endless joke of a problem ticket - that I too know will never see the light of day or any solution other than them saying, "it wasn't anything we could re-create here" - I finally am able to get back in and do 2 more questions before it crashes again. Honestly, they can NOT handle the traffic. And the idea behind a class that is done ONLINE is that people can not attend and are unavailable to do work durring normal business hours. Very flawed system with no business competing in the industry or being bought by any institutions of higher education unless they want angry students, loss of students and students going elsewhere. Seriously, no customer service, no clue, and no care should equal - NO SALES and No Support from the student body.

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LauraVergara
West Palm Beach, US
Aug 26, 2012 3:14 pm EDT

I completely agree with everyone here... I have used connect for my microeconomics class, and now I am using it for my corporate finance class (I just started using it today). Connect's answers are wrong much of the time! I input the right answer and it marks it wrong. Right now I'm dealing with one question that shows that my answer is wrong even though I did the exact same calculations for a similar question which was right according to Connect on a different problem. Now, exactly the same question but with different values shows as being wrong. I really hate this program. I think professors just ask for it because the schools probably get a "commission" from this company for buying their products, because I can't understand why would anyone ever use this web tool.

Ohhh and to make matters worse, when I registered my connect for this class today it says that my code will expire today because it has been used before! And this is a brand new book that came all wrapped-up and the connect code was within the book, so the mistake is without a doubt a mistake from this company. I wish I didn't have to buy their products ever again, but I wonder how many students complaints will take to stop using this awful thing. I don't think most professors care that much, and the few that do probably don't have enough "power" to convince the schools to stop requiring this product.

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gypsy424
, US
May 26, 2012 11:10 am EDT

I agree that Connect is the WORST. I am working thru the self study for one of my courses and their answers are just plain WRONG, or the site is marking my answers wrong when they are correct (even according to their calculations they show me when they show me the solution)..typos galore, and solutions involve numbers that arent even in the questions. What a horrific experience.

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auge
Opelika, US
May 25, 2012 1:55 am EDT

I like Cengage's iLrn. Pearson mylabs are ok. McGraw-Hill Connect is definitely the worst.

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