According to a recent article from Inside Higher Ed, beginning in January, Daytona State College will purchase licenses from textbook publishers that will give students access to e-textbooks for a fee. This model allows the university to buy the license at a discounted price and transfer the cost and the savings to the students. According to Rand S. Spiwak, chief financial officer of Daytona State College, students may save as much as 80% with this model. Students will also have the option to purchase the print version if they choose. The digital course materials fee can be used as a credit toward the print version. In addition, this model will still give faculty the opportunity to choose among multiple publishers when selecting the texts for students.
The article points out that the college bookstore will not benefit from this new model but the college is prepared for that. Spiwak noted, “The simplest conclusion would be we’ll have no bookstore. What we’ll have is a store that sells t-shirts and backpacks, and things that go with e-readers.”
