In support of the Higher Education Opportunity Act and given that college costs are rising more rapidly than the prices of other goods and services Seminole State College (SSC) set out to assist students with potential savings in purchasing of their textbooks. SSC developed a textbook rental program with the start-up costs of a FIPSE College Course Materials Rental Initiative funding. In Spring 2010 SSC launched a small textbook rental pilot program with seven core curricula classes. SSC immediately reduced costs incurred by students for these core classes with a measured financial impact upon students, and evaluated the sustainability to continue the program.
With the development of an advisory committee and campus-wide support the rental program has become a welcomed feature of the SSC Bookstore with only three completed semesters. The rental program has grown to include thirteen core curricula classes. Over 3,000 students have taken advantage of the rental program since it began with an overall student savings of $117,284.42 to those students. Nearly 60% of the students enrolled in the core curricula classes used rental textbooks during this period and unfortunately there were still16% of students who did not rent or purchase a book through the SSC Bookstore. This could mean they purchased or borrowed elsewhere or they did not have a book at all.
In efforts to maintain sustainability, the bookstore management rental procedures have been streamlined into the existing procedures; advertising, press releases and other promotional materials will continue to be developed to inform students and faculty about the rental program, and efforts will be made to increase the number of titles available for rental. Consideration will be made in the future to research new options in the textbook rental industry. Possible new options will make rentable textbooks a viable choice for a much broader group of students.
SSC has taken a number of steps to disseminate their model for textbook rental to other institutions. These included presentations at state and user group meetings in the fall of 2010. SSC will continue to disseminate information about textbook rental to other institutions when opportunities arise. The institution is able to fully manage a textbook rental program that reduces costs for students and has become self-sustaining. SSC will continue to measure the outcomes, as well as evaluate the effectiveness of the program by reducing the financial limitations and increasing the number of students who acquire textbooks.
http://www.sscok.edu/Bookstore/RentalPg.html
Katherine Benton
Project Director
Seminole State College PO Box 351 2701 Boren Blvd Seminole, OK 74855 Tel: 405-382-9263 Fax: 405-382-9584
E-mail: k.benton@sscok.edu
Edith Cathey
Project Co-Director
Seminole State College P. O. Box 351 Seminole, OK 74818 Tel: 405-382-9574 Fax: 405-382-9587
