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.
Custom Course Packs to Support Textbook Affordability
Wartburg College, a four-year liberal arts institution located in Waverly, Iowa, is cementing their student-focused mission, making it easier for faculty to adopt, and students to purchase, low-cost custom course packs. Starting winter term 2020, The Wartburg Store will transfer management of textbook adoptions and fulfillment to our full-service course materials platform providing a centralized technology solution for expanded selection of low-cost course materials, convenient online ordering, and personalized service. The on-campus store will continue to support the sale of school spirit and general merchandise items while utilizing the economies of scale for course materials a partnership with Akademos affords.
“We’re pleased to be partnering with Akademos to expand the offerings and capabilities of our bookstore,” said Janet Huebner, director of The Wartburg Store. “This decision contributes to our overall strategy to provide our students with all of the tools they need to succeed and ensures that they will have access to a wider selection of affordable course materials and more personalized service.”
Our proprietary CoursePack creation tool allows faculty members to develop custom course packs with commercial, original materials, and/or open-source content. Faculty can design their own cover with text, images and color to produce content specific to their teaching needs. Additionally, a digital repository is created for the faculty member’s CoursePack to make future use and subsequent changes or additions extremely easy. This also provides faculty with access to out-of-print sources and editions through their course packs, making it simple for faculty to build and adopt low-cost course materials.
“Our full-service platform provides faculty and administrators with powerful tools for making the lives of faculty and staff easier while reducing course materials costs for students,” said Raj Kaji, CEO, Akademos. “We’re looking forward to working with Wartburg College to provide more affordable and accessible materials to their students, which will ultimately drive their preparedness and success.”
Find out more about the Wartburg College and Akademos partnership in the full press release.
To learn more about how Akademos can help guide your institution towards the best option for its bookstore, contact us for more information.
