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

The 2019 Survey of College & University Academic Leadership provides valuable insight into the critical issues facing colleges and universities today and potential solutions for the future.

The findings of the 2019 Survey of College & University Academic Leadership provide unique data & analysis on the many obstacles colleges and universities face when reducing the high costs of textbook and course materials for their students. This survey highlights academic leadership's perspective and trends on today's hot-button issues including:

• Textbook affordability
• Student purchasing behavior
• The impact of high textbook and course material costs on student success
• Best practices to improving textbook affordability and accessibility
• Emerging trends in digital materials and new learning models

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The 2017 College CFO Survey report highlights an accelerated rise in students leaving 
the college bookstore and business administrator concern over the impact of textbook prices on student performance and persistence.

University of West Florida survey reveals that textbook affordability continues to be a key determining factor in student preparedness and academic success.

The results of a recently released survey, 2016 Student Textbook and Course Materials Survey Report conducted by the Office of Distance Learning and tudent Services of the University of West Florida’s Virtual Campus, shows that the high costs of college course materials continues to undermine student access, student preparedness & academic success. 

Out of the 22,000+ Florida students surveyed, over half of them (66.6%) said they did not purchase the required textbooks for their courses because they were too costly. 

Growing numbers of college students are abandoning the campus bookstore and purchasing textbooks from less expensive third-party websites - but it’s not only price that’s driving them away.

A recent survey conducted by Akademos on college student textbook purchasing and bookstore services reveals that “convenience” also plays a very influential role in where students decide to purchase textbooks and course materials, with 58% of students citing it as a critical factor affecting where they buy or rent

It’s abundantly clear that high textbook costs are a critical issue for colleges and their students, however there is no effective way to address this highly-complex issue.

Our new study, available free-of-charge, provides proof that addressing college textbook affordability with specialized online bookstore solutions is highly effective and positively impacts student satisfaction, bookstore sales and academic success.

The study contains a comparative analysis from two surveys recently conducted on college student purchasing behaviors and bookstore services. One survey was administered exclusively to students currently enrolled at an Akademos partner schools, and another,  administered to college students enrolled at a random sample of "non-partner" institutions. 

A recent survey conducted by Akademos on college textbooks and bookstore services revealed a troubling trend — a large percentage of students wait until on or after the first day of class to order course materials.