NJCU School of Business Pilots a Program to Make Course Materials More Affordable and Accessible to Students

The NJCU School of Business has adopted a pilot Inclusive Access program, which converts physical course materials into instantly accessible, totally interactive and adaptive digital content, while reducing the cost to students.

This textbook model, patterned after several successful new programs around the country, improves access and affordability to course materials, and improves educational outcomes for students.

“We’re responding to demonstrated student needs.” said Dr. Bernard McSherry, Founding Dean of the NJCU School of Business. “Research tells us that a lack of access to affordable course content and digital learning materials has a detrimental effect on student grades, engagement, and overall performance. By adopting this program, we are striving to address the affordability issue and improve educational outcomes for our students.”

He continued, “In collaboration with our faculty, the NJCU Barnes and Noble Bookstore, and McGraw Hill publishers, this new model allows us to reduce the cost of required course materials for all enrolled students. The ‘inclusive’ aspect of the model means that every student has access to the same materials from the very first day of class, with savings generated by charging students a discounted fee that represents significant savings off the hardcover textbook price.”

With rising textbook costs in recent years, students have turned to secondhand, rented, or pirated copies in order to avoid paying the high costs of printed textbooks. Many skipped buying textbooks altogether, resulting in significantly reduced student performance. Inclusive Access model programs such as NJCU’s School of Business pilot have changed that.

Inclusive Access benefits include:

• “Day One” access to critical course materials provided to all enrolled students.
• Seamless connection to course materials through Blackboard.
• Integration with the NJCU Barnes & Noble Bookstore to provide implementation assistance to students.
• Cost of college attendance is lowered, offering average savings of 50 to 70 percent off print retail price of equivalent materials
• All students may leverage McGraw Hill’s Connect® adaptive learning software and eBooks in the courses selected.
• Students are able to utilize digital materials via laptop, tablet, or smartphone.
• All students in the pilot classes have digital access to the content on the first day, including Interactive Learning Platforms, with no billing until after the Opt-Out deadline.
• Faculty know that all students have all the materials they need ready on the first day of class and all have access to the most up-to-date content, instead of some students having different editions of the same textbook.
• Faculty members have the freedom to more easily tailor their course materials.
• Students have the confidence that all sections of the same course have the same materials and expectations.

Through the collaboration with Barnes & Noble and the bookstore model, the cost of materials are charged upon enrollment and billed through bursar account via the bookstore; final charges are assessed upon enrollment census after the add/drop period. Personnel and systems expertise within bookstore and institution are available to facilitate student and vendor billing.

Students in Inclusive Access courses have the right materials, on the first day of class, at no charge.  After the Opt-Out deadline for the course, enrolled students who have not opted out are billed to their account for the course materials at a cost below competitive market rates.  The price that is accessible to each and every enrolled student and not just a great deal on a few copies here or there, with the charge included as part of their tuition. No more searching and comparing costs and then waiting for books to arrive.  No more lines at the bookstore, wrong editions or simply taking the risk of not being able to access the material, finish the readings and homework, and successfully complete the course.

The process is simple:

• Students are sent an email before classes begin with instructions on how to access their digital course material content. They’re able to access the content through the publisher’s platform by the first day of class.
• Students enjoy free access to the content until September 10, 2018, the Opt-Out deadline for the fall semester.
• After the Opt-Out deadline, in order to retain access, students do nothing; a bookstore charge is conveniently billed to the student’s account.
• If students choose to opt out, they can do so easily via the opt-out option online. 
• As long as the student opts out or drops the course by the deadline; access is turned off and no charge is assessed.

“We have only adopted this program for half of the business core courses this semester,” said Dean McSherry. “We plan to monitor the process and seek feedback from our faculty and students. The research tells us that this is one simple tool to address affordability and student retention and graduation. Our goal is to add more of our business courses and additional publisher materials. From the greater university perspective, it is a model that other programs and colleges on campus are likely to explore.”