Do you remember going to Blockbuster? After Netflix, would you ever go back?
Just like Netflix crushed Blockbuster, streaming textbooks through Cengage Unlimited has the possibility to change the textbook-publishing industry. More importantly, if leveraged correctly by educators and students, Cengage Unlimited can change the lives of students who use their products. Students could pay $120 per semester to access all Cengage eBooks, digital products (approximately 19,800 publications and 2,300 digital products) and related resources (e.g., lecture videos, animated tutorials, PowerPoints).
Removing or significantly reducing the financial barriers that deter students from purchasing textbooks can eradicate issues of access and promote equity for millions of students looking to pursue higher education. Financially insecure students struggle with several issues that are detrimental to their educational goals, including problems with locating and securing food, housing, textbooks and school supplies. According to a 2016 study on financially insecure students, Hunger on Campus: the Challenge of Food Insecurity for College Students, 32 percent of the food-insecure students believed that issues with housing and hunger impacted their education. Fifty-five percent of these students reported not being able to purchase a required textbook as a consequence of their financial insecurity.
Nationally, institutions of higher learning are creating and refining processes to help address their students’ needs, including connecting students to resources to subsidize and reduce textbook cost.
In 2014, Tennessee State University, a historically Black institution in Nashville, attempted to address the issue of rising textbook costs by establishing an eBook system, which allowed students to pay a flat fee of $365 for general education classes. The fee is built into tuition, which reduced some of the out-of-pocket expenses for students and families. Glenda Glover, president of Tennessee State University, shared that “many of our students would go weeks before they even purchase a textbook, which in turn hurts them in the classroom. This new program allows students to have books the first day of class and gives them the ability to be successful since they will have the required materials.”
Cheyney University, another historically Black institution, took another approach to address their students’ need. Cheyney closed the campus brick-and mortar-bookstore to become more cost-effective as an institution and simultaneously reduce textbook cost for students. They maintain an online bookstore presence and encourage their students to explore affordable online options (e.g., Amazon) to purchase their textbooks.
According to the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, “Other parts of the cost of attendance, including living costs, transportation, books and supplies, and personal expenses make up between 50 percent and 80 percent of sticker price. As a result, low-income students can be faced with making difficult financial choices. For example, tight finances among low-income students can lead them to sacrifice food and housing to stay in school.”
