Western Oklahoma State College (WOSC), a public, state-supported two-year institution introduced Equitable Access to support their students in the Fall 2022 semester and reduce the cost of textbooks. Equitable Access is an up-and-coming course material delivery model that allows students to access their materials on the first day of class for one low course material fee.

Melissa McMahon, Vice President for Business Affairs at WOSC said, “We have made a commitment to our students to find strategies that combat the rising costs of textbooks. Launching the new textbook delivery model is expected to drastically lower the costs of materials, while still allowing full academic freedom so faculty can continue to decide their course texts.”

By bundling course materials with a course material fee, students at WOSC are provided with affordable course materials and can arrive in class prepared on the first day. Under their Equitable Access model, students will no longer need to make separate purchases, pay for additional shipping fees, or risk ordering the wrong textbooks prior to the semester's start.

Student readiness, success, and retention are key metrics for Academic Affairs offices across higher education. Changing your course material purchase and delivery service might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you’re brainstorming ways to improve those metrics, but it shouldn’t be dismissed.

Today’s college students are accustomed to subscription models and flat-rate fees because so many of them grew up with these services. Equitable Access is an innovative course material delivery model that offers students access to their course materials on the first day of class for one low fee, embedded into the cost of tuition.

Here are some of the top ways implementing an Equitable Access model can positively impact your students:

The College of Staten Island (CSI), a City University of New York (CUNY) institution joins a number of their fellow system schools to offer textbooks through an online bookstore platform with affordable options to students. 

Edgecombe Community College (ECC) is enhancing the student experience and improving affordability.

Edgecombe Community College (ECC), a public, two-year institution, launched an online bookstore to enhance the student experience and improve affordability. The college now offers all required textbooks and course materials through the online model and plans to rebrand the Campus Store to support the community in new ways.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced a shift from an in-person college experience to virtual learning and simultaneously brought increased awareness to the reality of students’ challenges and educational barriers.

The Chronicle of Higher Education’s article, “Connecting with the Whole Student Experience,” offers insight into the socio-economic challenges today’s college students face – including food and housing insecurities, childcare costs, and mental health struggles. The article, which is part of a larger report, “Reimagining the Student Experience,” was published in August 2022. 

At Akademos, we understand that the textbook and course materials landscape is always changing. There seems to be a new model that promotes textbook affordability for students everyday. In the midst of the rising popularity of Open Educational Resources (OER) and Inclusive Access (IA), equitable access is only just emerging. So what exactly is it, and how does it enable student success? Check out our infographic below!