Like
many higher education campuses across the U.S. this academic year, the
University of Wisconsin-Stout is testing the use of electronic textbooks for
undergraduate courses. What’s different about this pilot is that UW-Stout is
one of maybe 15-20 schools that’s had an extensive textbook rental program in
place for decades.
In
other e-text trials, a significant number of students said they would rather
study from paper books but would be willing to trade them in for digital ones
if it meant considerable savings. The students in Stout, though, already enjoy
such savings with print rentals. Currently, the school charges a $170 annual
book rental fee—the same amount students on other campuses might pay to buy
just one textbook.
For
UW-Stout students, that means price wouldn’t motivate them to opt for digital
course materials. However, all Stout undergrads have their own laptop
computers, and that may have played an influential role in boosting student
satisfaction with e-textbooks. In other pilots, students who had to use immovable
desktop machines to access digital course materials were far less happy with
the experience.
A recent report from UW-Stout showed students had mixed feelings about the pilot
going in. More than half were interested in trying e-textbooks but almost
two-thirds would have preferred to stick with paper, given a choice. The pilot
is now in its second semester and has expanded from 200 students in five courses
last fall to 1,500 in 40 spring-term classes.
The
report says students appreciate the interactive qualities of the digital texts
and not having to haul as many books around. They also like not having to pick
up and drop off rental books each term.
