NEW YORK (July 22, 2015) — Today, The Princeton Review and Tutor.com announced the appointment of Sharon van Wyk, Ph.D. as President and Chief Operating Officer. In this role, Dr. van Wyk will lead both companies’ growth strategies with a focus on Tutor.com’s fast-growing higher education business and The Princeton Review’s retail services and K-12 college readiness programs.
Tutor.com serves over 1.2 million students each year and has partnered with over 100 colleges and universities to improve student success and retention. Students connect to a highly qualified tutor 24/7 in 40+ subjects in a device-agnostic classroom. Students get the help they need to fill knowledge gaps and institutions gain data about a student’s academic challenges to accelerate the intervention time line.
“Tutor.com is not only providing critical front-line support to students, but is also sharing unprecedented insights on student engagement with faculty and institutional leaders,” said van Wyk. “We’re committed to supporting higher education leaders as they grapple with new accountability measures and identify strategies that can dramatically improve student outcomes.”
The Princeton Review serves a broad range of student needs through its retail and institutional services. The company’s college readiness programs offered through K-12 school districts and community programs helps thousands of first generation college students gain college admissions and millions of dollars in scholarships linked to their SAT® and ACT® scores.
Dr. van Wyk brings over 25 years of experience leading improvement initiatives in corporations, higher education institutions, and military related organizations. She previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer at American Public Education, Inc., where she led the transformation of online admissions and student services to be student centric and scalable to support 110,000+ students around the world.
“We are thrilled to have Sharon join our leadership team at The Princeton Review and Tutor.com,” said CEO Mandy Ginsberg. “With her wide-ranging leadership experience in higher education, Sharon will play a critical role in guiding our efforts to improve student success and retention in partnership with leading colleges and universities.”
Dr. van Wyk holds a Ph.D. in Instructional Systems and an M.S. in Instructional Systems from Florida State University. She earned a B.S. in Communication from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Her post-doctoral studies include certificates from the GE John F. Welch Leadership Development Center and the Harvard Institute of Education Management and she has attended the invitation only, U.S. War College National Security Seminar.
In addition to her extensive leadership experience, Dr. van Wyk possesses several process improvement certifications including Six Sigma Instructor and Master Black Belt. Dr. van Wyk is also a charter member of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Personalized Learning Network and is the current chair of the Board of Advisors for the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. The appointment of Dr. van Wyk as President and COO is effective immediately.
About Tutor.com
Tutor.com is the largest online tutoring company with a community of more than 3,000 expert tutors and more than 12 million one-to-one tutoring sessions completed. Professional tutors are available 24/7 in 40 subjects, including AP courses. Ninety six percent of students who use Tutor.com get better grades, feel more confident and complete their coursework and assignments on time. Tutor.com, an operating business of IAC (NASDAQ: IACI), powers tutoring and homework help programs for the Department of Defense, thousands of public libraries, school districts, colleges and universities, and the states of Alabama, Alaska, Louisiana, Montana, North Dakota, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia. For more information visit www.tutor.com or follow on Twitter @TutordotcomHE.
About The Princeton Review
The Princeton Review is a leading tutoring, test prep and college admission services company. Every year, it helps millions of college- and graduate school-bound students achieve their education and career goals through online and in person courses delivered by a network of more than 4,000 teachers and tutors, online resources and its more than 150 print and digital books published by Penguin Random House. The Princeton Review is headquartered in Natick, MA and is an operating business of IAC (NASDAQ: IACI). For more information, visit www.princetonreview.com or follow on Twitter @theprincetonrev.
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