When faced with the looming deadline of a 10-page paper, or when Finals Week is breathing down your neck, most college students have at least done a cursory search of online study aids. With so many options out there, figuring out whom to trust feels like its own research project.
So, what’s the deal with Course Hero? Is it a legit study resource for college students, or a scam? We spoke with a lead member of the Customer Experience team to clear up common misconceptions. Drawing on her experience fielding questions, comments, and complaints directly from Course Hero users, we make the facts about Course Hero crystal clear.
Study resources for the courses you’re actually taking—whenever you need them.
Start hereWhat is Course Hero?
Course Hero is an online learning platform of 30 million course-specific study materials. Our library of resources includes Practice Problems, study guides, videos, class notes, and step-by-step explanations of core concepts. For additional help, we have tutors available 24/7 who can help you figure out your most difficult questions. Here’s more about what we do.
Along with the service provided for students, Course Hero also has resources for educators. Course Hero hosts a nationwide, professional network of verified college instructors who share lecture slides, syllabi, and lesson plans. To encourage a sense of community among educators, Course Hero holds an annual Education Summit in July to connect educators to one another, to the larger teaching and learning community, and to valuable teaching resources.
Is Course Hero legit?
Course Hero is legit! We know the Internet can be a sketchy place, so here’s some info about the company behind the website. Course Hero is a mission-driven edtech company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Since its inception in 2006, the company has built a community of over 1 million paid users and more than 20,000 educators who contribute to the site. In fact, one in 20 college students uses Course Hero. Heck, we are even verified on Instagram, which you can visit to see who we are and what we have to offer.
Is Course Hero a scam?
Course Hero is not a scam. It is a learning tool that provides the service it advertises, with the various price points explained in the next section. It’s reliable—for the past 13 years Course Hero has worked to bring high-quality study aids to students. Course Hero’s resources and tutors are accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you’re curious about the type of study materials available, you can search through the site before you sign up.
How does Course Hero work?
Anyone can sign up for a free Course Hero account. After creating an account and logging in, you’ll use the dashboard to search for and add the classes you’re taking during your current semester. You can upload your own notes and course documents to Course Hero to earn free unlocks, which you can use to access other content on the site. If you do not want to upload your own notes and have instant access to all of Course Hero’s resources, you can subscribe to Course Hero on a monthly, quarterly, or yearly basis.
Here’s the pricing breakdown, with recurring subscription rates*:
- One-year membership at $9.95/month (80% savings), billed in one installment of $119.40
– Three months’ membership at $19.95/month (48% savings), billed in one installment of $59.85
– One-month membership at $39.95 for the month, billed in one installment of $39.95
*Recurring payments: We don’t want to interrupt your service, so at the end of your commitment period your subscription will automatically renew. You may cancel your subscription at any time.
Here’s where there might be some confusion, and where we’ve fielded some complaints, when it comes to subscribing to Course Hero. Course Hero offers various subscription plans, with each plan billed in one installment up front. For instance, if you want to take advantage of the offer of one year at $9.95 a month, you pay $119.40 for the full year as soon as you sign up. Buying a plan for a year gives you 80% savings on Course Hero’s monthly price, but it also means you’ve purchased use of the service for a year, whether or not you use it during months that classes aren’t in session. (Think of it like a gym membership—you pay for it even if you’re out of town on vacation.)
Is using Course Hero cheating?
Using Course Hero is not cheating. Simply put, Course Hero doesn’t give out answers. We provide study tools to supplement class materials and help students get a deeper understanding of course material.
However, we acknowledge that some students do not use Course Hero in the manner for which it was intended.
We don’t tolerate copyright infringement, plagiarism, or cheating of any kind. Anyone who misuses Course Hero to gain an unfair advantage; submits another member’s content as their own; or violates any law, regulation, ethics code, or school code will be permanently banned from the platform.
The team at Course Hero has gone to great lengths to build and maintain a quality educational resource, and we take pride in working with students, educators, administrators, and parents to ensure that the integrity of our site is not compromised.
Please see our Academic Integrity policy for more information.
Is Course Hero safe?
Yes, definitely. We take privacy very seriously and protect your personal information. We do not share your info, which includes credit card information, phone number, or user status with your professors, school, or other companies. For additional questions about privacy, please see our Privacy Policy.
Why should I use Course Hero?
Maybe you missed a class and need the notes for that day. Or you’re a bit confused about a core concept in one of your classes and just haven’t found the right explanation to make it stick. Perhaps you’re looking for practice tests. You may be asking yourself is Course Hero worth it? All of these are reasons to use Course Hero. In addition to study aids, Course Hero is a great resource for scoping out syllabi when you’re choosing next semester’s classes. Plus, users are eligible to apply for one of our monthly $5,000 scholarships!
If you still need more reasons to join Course Hero, you can read reviews from some of our users. Here’s what they have to say!
“I have used Course Hero in ALL my classes, which has contributed to my high GPA. I like being able to type my notes and access them online anytime. I have also utilized the app in preparation for midterms and finals.” — Manuel G. Patton, Park University, winner of the March 2019 Scholarship
“Course Hero has become an important resource with my studies. I use it to help me with homework and assignments that I find difficult. The tutors are great help as well!” — Aminah Akbar, Ashford University, winner of Course Hero’s 2018 Academic Hero Scholarship
“Course Hero was very useful to help me prepare to teach my first undergraduate course. I was not sure where to begin, but I found some useful slide decks and even examples of how to structure my tests.” — Kristen Labazzo, PhD, MBA, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Rutgers University
