News and Insights on College Textbooks, Course Materials & Bookstore Services

Why paying your way through college is a thing of the past.

As the presidential debates kick off, everyone is talking about the big issues leading up to the 2020 election. The largest economic issue is one that is becoming impossible to ignore -  the student loan debt crisis. The newest study by Textbookrush.com has provided further proof that for most students, coming out of school debt free is a thing of the past. Forty years ago, a student attending college could pay for their tuition and housing by simply working a part time job, something that is impossible to accomplish today.

The number of hours required to work in order to cover education costs has skyrocketed due to the rising costs of education and the decline of wages compared to inflation. Over the past forty years, the cost of tuition and housing has increased over 250% while the cost of textbooks rose over 1000%. In this time, the value of the minimum wage has declined fairly steadily since its peak in 1968 and possibly even more unsettling - the federal minimum wage has not changed in over ten years. The following illustrates how many hours a student would need to work at minimum wage to pay for their education.

They’re digitally savvy. They want a good quality of life and career growth. They've grown up with iPhones in hand, YouTube at their fingertips and instant access to the internet. Nearly 60% of Gen Z is enrolled in college, making your campus the most uniquely diverse it has ever been.

One big question can weigh on the minds of college administration and faculty at smaller institutions - how can we reduce the costs of textbooks without having the purchasing power to command lower prices? Even with the existence of online retailers who can offer significant savings, there is the additional struggle to make sure the materials students are using their hard earned money on are usable and effective.

As our world grows increasingly more digital, we find that the pace of technological advancement continues to accelerate. We’re at the start of a Fourth Industrial Revolution according to Klaus Schwab, the founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, and we’ve arrived at the start of this new age in less than half the time it took for the Third Industrial Revolution to occur.

Improved visibility, flexibility, and cost savings to benefit CSE faculty and students

With any educational institution, administration and faculty play a crucial role in ensuring students are prepared for the first day of class. The two groups must work together to build enough lead time ahead of class start dates so that faculty can then research, select, and share required and optional course material information with their students. This in turn allows students enough time to shop for the best prices - a necessary process for students to obtain affordable textbooks and be prepared to achieve success from the very start.

Akademos to manage course materials process through CSS online bookstore and benefit administration, faculty, and students

How do you compete effectively in the college textbook environment? A significant decline in bookstore sales for the past 5+ years has caused many university administrators to look at the campus bookstore model differently and re-examine its role in serving the student population. Course material needs are changing and books are being replaced with access codes, eBooks, and custom CoursePacks. Shoppers have more options, the convenience and price factors of eCommerce has helped sales grow 15% in the last year alone.