Students are not the only ones on campus reluctant to
embrace digital course materials. A new study from the Book Industry Study
Group and Bowker Market Research found that print is the format of choice for faculty as
well as for students.
In Faculty Attitudes Toward Content in Higher Education, a
survey of college faculty perceptions on classroom materials, 93% of the instructors
surveyed equated success in the classroom to use of assigned materials.
However, only 32% of faculty make e-book options available and just 2% of
students select that format.
Comparing the faculty survey with BISG’s Student Attitudes
Toward Content in Higher Education survey shows just 12% of faculty prefer
digital to print, while 16% of students would choose electronic options. The faculty
research also suggests a high level of satisfaction with e-textbooks once they
are adopted. Of the 20% of faculty members who reported using digital course
materials, 90% said they were likely to adopt an e-text in the future.
“The emergence of e-books has led to a lot of confusion in
the marketplace about what faculty want from publishers,” said Angela Bole,
BISG’s deputy executive director. “While students may be the ultimate consumers
of course materials, professors are not only influencers, they are
decision-makers. Understanding where they fit on the e- vs. print continuum is
essential for any organization serving this market.”
