08.25.17
Students are spending around 15 percent less on textbooks and course materials than they did a decade ago – largely in part to a shift to digital materials, according to reports.
The Association of American Publishers looked at the decline, citing research by Student Monitor® and the National Association of College Stores (NACS).
Students were spending between $672-701 during the 2007-08 academic year, AAP noted. That total is down to $579 for the 2016-17 academic year, per Student Monitor.
This coincides with the rise in popularity of digital materials, which 52 percent of students use, according to a Student Watch survey.
Additionally, Inclusive Access programs slash prices by up to 70 percent.
That's not all: Rental options for both print and digital materials, as well as a competitive retail market, contribute to the decreased spending, per AAP.
Student Monitor said a record-high 33 percent of students rented one or more textbooks while 82 percent of students compared prices.
Both studies found the average price per unit – new, used, print, digital or rented – for the 2016-17 academic year was $66.
The cost of new print textbooks has dipped around 13 percent – from $91 to $80 – over the past two years, according to Student Monitor.
“Over the past few years, learning companies have championed multiple solutions, which are effectively reducing the cost of course materials, including the shift to digital and Inclusive Access programs,” said David Anderson, executive director of higher education at the Association of American Publishers. “This research proves that students are taking advantage of these innovations and are saving money in the process.”
Despite that, 74 percent of students purchased new print books in fall 2016, according to Student Watch.
The same study says that campus bookstores remain the most popular place for students to purchase materials, followed by Amazon.
Graph courtesy OnCampusResearch.org/NACS
Image via Shutterstock
Per AAP:
The Association of American Publishers looked at the decline, citing research by Student Monitor® and the National Association of College Stores (NACS).
Students were spending between $672-701 during the 2007-08 academic year, AAP noted. That total is down to $579 for the 2016-17 academic year, per Student Monitor.
This coincides with the rise in popularity of digital materials, which 52 percent of students use, according to a Student Watch survey.
Additionally, Inclusive Access programs slash prices by up to 70 percent.
That's not all: Rental options for both print and digital materials, as well as a competitive retail market, contribute to the decreased spending, per AAP.
Student Monitor said a record-high 33 percent of students rented one or more textbooks while 82 percent of students compared prices.
Both studies found the average price per unit – new, used, print, digital or rented – for the 2016-17 academic year was $66.
The cost of new print textbooks has dipped around 13 percent – from $91 to $80 – over the past two years, according to Student Monitor.
“Over the past few years, learning companies have championed multiple solutions, which are effectively reducing the cost of course materials, including the shift to digital and Inclusive Access programs,” said David Anderson, executive director of higher education at the Association of American Publishers. “This research proves that students are taking advantage of these innovations and are saving money in the process.”
Despite that, 74 percent of students purchased new print books in fall 2016, according to Student Watch.
The same study says that campus bookstores remain the most popular place for students to purchase materials, followed by Amazon.
Graph courtesy OnCampusResearch.org/NACS
Image via Shutterstock
Per AAP:
- Data from the Student Monitor survey was collected from 1,020 full-time, four-year undergraduates enrolled at 100 representative campuses nationally using one-on-one intercepts with a margin of error of +/- 2.4%.
- Data from the Student Watch survey was collected by OnCampus Research®, the research arm of the National Association of College Stores. More than 44,000 responses were collected across 90 Two-and Four-year institutions in 33 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces for the two-wave study. The margin of error is <1.0 at the 95% confidence level.