Since
college stores have been in the business of providing textbooks to students for
many decades, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that affordable course materials
heads the list of the seven top issues facing the college store industry right
now.
NACS
member-volunteers spent months identifying all the issues impacting stores and
then condensing and winnowing the list to the seven most critical challenges. Stores’
efforts to help ensure all students have affordable access to course materials
on the first day of class emerged as No. 1.
Stores have
built relationships with publishers and distributors to help faculty understand
the available options for materials, including customized versions and
open-source materials. As more course materials are offered in digital formats
(sometimes solely in digital), it’s often stores that end up assisting students
in figuring out how to access their electronic assignments. Because students
still strongly prefer to study from paper—digital products don’t yet offer the
same ease of use—campus stores have stepped up to furnish hard-copy options for
digital or online materials and to seek out more sources of lower-cost used
books to stock.
While some
students believe they can achieve good grades without textbooks, research shows
that those who regularly read their assignments are more likely to attain
better grades and persist to graduation. That starts with making sure students
aren’t deterred by the price of materials.
However,
the issue of affordable course materials has another side for campus stores:
conflicting goals. While most higher education institutions are trying to hold
down costs for students, including textbooks, they also expect their campus
stores to generate more revenue from sales.
The six
other issues on the top-seven list are:
2. The student experience: providing goods and services to
enhance students’ campus experience and boost their connection to the
institution.
3. The retail experience: furnishing strong customer service
and extending the school’s brand.
4. Campus collaboration and
communication:
working closely with other campus entities to support the institution’s
mission.
5. Retail technologies: making good use of technology to
improve operations, service, and communications.
6. Talent development: strengthening the store’s
performance by investing in its employees.
7. Business stewardship and
strategy: being
aware of trends and issues and readying a strategy for response.
