The biennial survey provides insights from academic leaders on the rapidly changing textbook and course materials environment

Our 2020 Survey of Academic Leadership white paper is now available for download! This survey explores the current state of textbooks and course materials, and how institutions continue to prioritize reducing course material costs and understand their impact on student success. It also compares trends from previous surveys to give you a broader understanding of the changing course material environment and the pace at which it has evolved.

When it comes to getting work done, whether it’s “real world” work or classwork, everyone has preferences of how they like to get things done. For college students, it could be studying in a cube in the library or sitting at a table with friends. Some study better in their dorm while others can’t focus in their rooms. Those with a traditional job might prefer sitting in an office with the door closed or try to find an opportunity to work remotely.

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!

Implementing an online bookstore to manage all of the course material logistics doesn’t mean it is necessary to get rid of the on-campus store. Campus stores can be a central location where students frequently gather to shop for spirit wear, grab coffee and snacks, and meet up with peers. Mitchell Technical Institute has partnered with us to manage their course materials while they focus on selling tools, spirit wear and other goods to support their programs, scholarships, and more.

Operating a campus store can be a complex task, especially when it comes to providing textbooks and course materials. From managing adoptions to working with publishers to the logistics of inventory, back orders, and returns, it can be immensely difficult to ensure that every textbook is made available to students in multiple formats, at an affordable price. College students are some of the most price-sensitive shoppers in the world, so it comes as no surprise that textbook revenues at the campus bookstore continue to decline as students shop around. Losing students to other shopping platforms causes wasted time and resources and hurts institutional programs that depend on bookstore revenue. In addition, when students purchase outside the campus bookstore, the school loses important information on student preparedness that can be used as a data point to analyze retention and graduation rates.

Visit any college dorm room in America and it becomes obvious: students don’t operate on a typical 9-5 schedule.

Instead, they’re active at all hours, and this impacts everything from when they eat to when they study and even how they shop for course materials for their classes. While most people shop online at 8pm on Monday, students may be in prime textbook buying mode at 5am on a Sunday, accommodating their social, work, and class schedule.

To help students easily find and choose the right course materials at any time, Akademos has implemented a number of customer support programs to make getting the right course materials easier and quicker than ever before.

There’s no better team member than Akademos’ Senior Customer Experience Manager, Ben Plunkett, who has been delivering stellar customer experiences for students since 2014, to explain the improvements he and his team have implemented, what it means for students, and how it helps universities support their students.