StudySoup

StudySoup is a digital learning marketplace that allows the purchase and sale of academic content, such as course notes, study guides, and tutoring services.^[1][2][3][4]

Background

Sieva Kozinsky, an environmental studies graduate from UC Santa Barbara, had difficulty concentrating because of the speed of the lecture and lack of supportive academic resources.^{[1][5][6][7][8]} Kozinsky, along with Jeff Silverman, started StudySoup in 2014 to source academic support and provide a means for students to earn money while in school.^{[1][9][10][11][12]}

Operations

StudySoup is an online peer-to-peer learning marketplace^{[5][13][11][8]} that allows students to sell^[9] and purchase class notes and study guides.^{[1][13][14][10][11]} The sellers, also known as "Elite Notetakers",^[5] have go through training^[9][15] to understand the type of materials to be provided and its frequency.^[1][6] They have to submit notes every week and a study guide four days prior to every exam.^[9][6]

StudySoup

StudySoup is a for-profit corporation that employs students as notetakers at various universities across the world in order to provide a more positive experience for undergraduate college students.

History

Kozinsky and Silverman set out to provide students a new source of income and the first year obtained 1.5 million students across the United States.^[16] The platform was opened up to more universities in 2016 as they pushed their borders outside of the United States into Singapore and Canada. Several concerns about the legitimacy of StudySoup arose due to its changing business model.^[17]

Products

There are currently three products provided by StudySoup.

Class notes & study guides

StudySoup is known for its Elite Notetaker program, which recruits notetakers to apply to sell notes to other students for Karma Points, it sells a subscription to earn Karma and to gain access to the previous archives other notetakers have gathered over the years.

Textbook solution guides

StudySoup provides step-by-step walkthroughs explaining the questions in supported textbooks.

On demand questions

Students are given the ability to ask any question they want, which will be answered within 24 to 48 hours.

Community

StudySoup's community consists of different levels of participants. Campus Marketing Coordinators are responsible for connecting schools together by recruiting notetakers and establishing an on campus presence. Elite Notetakers provide notes and study guides for students with disabilities or paying subscribers enrolled in the course. Then students purchase materials they need. However, there have been documented instances of StudySoup using the imagery and logos of universities without permission in order to falsify and promote the idea that a school approves the platform.^[18]

Business model

This business is subscription based. Any one of three subscriptions can be purchased for various prices that provide access to the content students gather over the course of a school year.

Controversy

Florida State University has issued warnings to its students about Studysoup using FSU’s logo without the school‘s permission. StudySoup is in no way affiliated with the school and FSU does not condone the services being provided by this company.^[18]