Opening an Equitable Access Conversation on Campus
When change is hard, communicating the right information to the right audience is key to getting your team on board.
At the root, Equitable Access is the bundling of books and course materials with tuition, but when you dive into the details, Equitable Access is so much more.
Equitable Access is:
- Ensuring every student has what they need to be successful in a course without access or affordability issues
- Providing equity across majors so students aren’t forced to switch mid-program because they can’t afford the materials associated with the major
- Not a new idea. You’ll hear that Equitable Access is a new initiative, but in reality, K-12 schools have been offering the model since their inception
Let’s be honest, change is met with resistance. Students, faculty, administrators, and bookstore personnel can all have competing priorities and opinions when it comes to any type of change, but at the end of the day, we all want the same thing - students to succeed.
Some key priorities and talking points that will resonate with each of these groups are outlined here. Start the conversation on your campus!