TAP is committed to making sure that students are not only going to get fair pricing on textbooks, but we also want to keep them informed. Here you will find a collection of up-to-date articles pertaining to textbook affordability.
Associated Students of The University of Oregon Senate passes resolution in support of OSA textbook affordability campaign
January 21, 2021 – The ASUO senate unanimously passed a resolution supporting efforts to increase transparency around textbook affordability. The resolution calls upon University of Oregon faculty to reduce additional course fees where possible, and to make information about any added costs accessible to students during registration.
Tree of Life Appoints New Executive Vice President of Channel Strategy
January 12, 2021 – Tree of Life Bookstores (TOL) announces the hiring of Ross Craycraft as Executive Vice President of Channel Strategy, to further their mission of driving affordability and access for all students before the first day of class.
Pennsylvania Announces $500,000 to Support Equity in Higher Education
December 23, 2020 – The state Department of Education (PDE), through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries (OCL), recently announced $500,000 in funding to support affordability and equity in higher education.
Eastern Kentucky University announces it will give free textbooks to remove ‘barrier to academic success’
December 14, 2020 – Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) says it will provide all undergraduate students with free text books next year as part of a partnership with Barnes & Noble College.
Raising awareness about access to affordable textbooks
December 8, 2020 – An interview with E-Learning and OER Librarian from University of Oregon on the challenges and successes of raising awareness about affordability issues facing students today.
OCU professors receive ‘PALSave Open Educator Award’
December 3, 2020 – The Private Academic Library Network of Indiana named seven faculty members from four PALNI schools as recipients of the award for the 2019-2020 academic year, two of which come from Oakland City University.
Students save money in KPU’s novel ZTC program, or ‘Zero Textbook Cost’
November 25, 2020 – Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) initiative has saved students more than $2 million during remote learning this year, according to Kwantlen Polytechnic University officials.
OpenStax calls for student choice in textbook purchasing
October 28, 2020 – A new nationwide initiative created by OpenStax, calls on universities to reevaluate automatic textbook billing in favor of student choice. OpenStax held a press conference Oct. 21 to introduce educators to the initiative.
OpenStax to Double OER Textbooks
September 11, 2020 – Open educational resources publisher OpenStax plans to develop dozens of new free textbook titles — doubling its current catalog of 42 textbooks — and has so far secured $12.5 million in grants to support this goal, including support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
Texas Launching Digital Textbook Repository For College Students
August 27, 2020 – The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the state’s leading organization on higher education, will launch a digital repository of open educational resources, also known as OER, for Texas colleges and their students next week.
Back-to-School Doubts Crush Textbook Publishers
August 20, 2020 – The college textbook industry looks as if it may face a reckoning as the U.S. academic year begins, much like the rental-car business did in the early days of the pandemic. Almost six months into America’s coronavirus crisis, credit investors should see the common themes among companies that can’t outlast the virus’s reshaping of the U.S. economy.
Editorial: Professors Must Work To Alleviate The Burden Of High Textbook Costs On Students
August 17, 2020 – According to a June report from the United States Public Interest Research Group, 66% of surveyed students didn’t buy course materials because of cost, 19% factored textbook costs into what courses they took and 11% reported having to skip meals just to afford textbooks. These statistics point to only one solution: During the pandemic-induced global recession, UCLA must do everything in its power to prevent textbooks from being an unnecessary stressor on the student population.
KPU Open Educational Resources Welcomes New Strategist
August 14, 2020 – For the implementation of its OER program, Kwantlen Polytechnic University is listed as “Canada’s leading institutional adopter of Open Textbooks and other Open Educational Resources.” New strategist, Urooj Nazami, will help bring OER textbooks to faculty and students
Barnes & Noble Education Expands Distribution of Bartleby With Introduction of Bartleby Study Bundle to VitalSource Direct Customer Base
August 5, 2020 – Barnes & Noble Education, Inc., announced it has expanded its existing strategic partnership with VitalSource to provide students with increased access to additional learning opportunities through a unique bundle of its bartleby homework help services, bartleby learn and bartleby write.
Online Learning Could Restrict Students’ Access To Affordable Textbooks
August 5, 2020 – Textbook affordability advocates worry that the transition to online learning will limit access to course materials for low-income students. Sixty-six percent of students surveyed by the United States Public Interest Research Group did not buy their assigned course materials due to cost, according to a June report.
Top Hat Launches New Communication Tool To Help Students, Professors Adapt To Virtual Education
July 31, 2020 – Toronto-based EdTech startup Top Hat has launched Slate, a new free communication tool that allows students and educators at high education institutions with digital spaces to easily communicate and collaborate.
BC Tackles Textbook Affordability
July 15, 2020 – Bellevue College has begun an initiative using a digital course materials program, called Inclusive Access, and, according to the university, is already saving Bellevue College students an estimated one-half million dollars in textbook costs Fall Quarter 2020.
Governor vetoes funding for Complete Florida virtual education program, many ask why?
July 1, 2020 – Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed a list of items on Tuesday, but one of those included the entire budget for an online education service that helps students get a higher education degree for free. The program, Complete Florida, saw its entire $29.4 million budget disappear come Wednesday morning, leaving thousands of students and teachers in limbo.
Florida A&M University Establishes Subscription Partnership With Cengage To Increase Textbook Affordability
June 23, 2020 – Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) recently entered into an agreement with Cengage to offer subscription-based access to course materials through Cengage Unlimited. The partnership will allow FAMU students to obtain thousands of eBooks, study guides and other materials for less than $125 each calendar year.
Fixing The Broken Textbook Market
June 8, 2020 – The high price of college textbooks remains one of the most significant out of pocket expenses for students. The cost of textbooks has increased at three times the rate of inflation, and although that trend seems to have plateaued in the past few years, the high barrier of overall cost remains.
Arc Offers Students A Safer Way To Buy Textbooks
May 18, 2020 – With American River College announcing that its classes will be online for the upcoming summer and fall semesters, the Beaver Bookstore will be making the full transition to online-only as well for the remainder of 2020.
‘McCengage’ Merger Called Off
May 5, 2020 – Publishers Cengage and McGraw-Hill Education have terminated plans to merge after scrutiny from regulators. The U.S. Department of Justice took almost a year to review the merger and asked the publishers to sell off assets, upwards of $175 million.
B&W survey shows 7 in 10 Lehigh students did not acquire required books due to cost in past year
May 1, 2020 – The Lehigh University bookstore’s operations are contracted out to Barnes and Noble. In a recent Brown and White survey, more Lehigh students said they acquired their required course materials from Amazon in the past year than the campus bookstore.