Students Aren't Spending as Much on Books

The news is full of reports on textbook costs in higher education. OnCampus Research, the research arm of the NACS, found student spending on course materials actually decreased during the 2016-17 academic year.

Student Watch, Attitudes & Behaviors toward CourseMaterials, a survey of more than 20,000 college students, noted that average spending on 10 required courses was $579 per student, down $23 from the previous year and $122 from 2007-08. Students also said they spent another $500 on technology and school supplies.

The report found an increasing number of students cut their course materials costs by borrowing, sharing, or downloading free information needed for class, and by using formats such as open educational resources. A quarter of the students reported using free course materials, up from 19% in spring 2016 and 15% from spring 2015.

When obtaining course materials, 82% of students purchased and 57% rented from their campus store. Nearly three-quarters bought new textbooks and 70% said they purchased used copies. Just 23% bought digital, but that was an increase of 8% over fall 2015. On average, the campus store was the main source for students' course materials.

The cost of the Student Watch report is $199 for NACS store members and $999 for everyone else, and includes the final report along with data tables from both fall 2016 and spring 2017 surveys. To purchase, email mmeyer@nacs.org or go to the Insights link at oncampusresearch.com. 

Transfers, Dropouts Don't Feel Ties to School

About 48% of college students indicated mental-health issues such as stress and anxiety were among their biggest challenges during the fall 2016 term. That could be a red flag for higher-education institutions, as students who reported issues with mental health also had problems staying motivated, felt less satisfied with their school, often didn’t feel as if they belonged, and were more likely to consider transferring or even dropping out.

The finding was part of the Student Panel survey conducted in December 2016 by NACS OnCampus Research.

Half of survey respondents pointed to time management as among their biggest challenges last fall. However, for reasons that aren’t entirely clear, time-pressed students were more apt to feel connected to their school and less likely to be thinking about leaving.

Students who took part in at least one school organization or activity also reported feeling a greater sense of belonging to their institution.

More than three-fourths of students said campus activities enabled them to meet new people and 60% made more friends through activities. Almost half rated these activities as very or extremely important.

Students Own Less Tech Than You Think

Nearly all college students possess a smartphone and some type of computer, but despite their reputation for being crazy about fun tech gadgets, students don’t actually own a lot of them.

According to a NACS OnCampus Research student survey conducted in October, 95% of students already have a smartphone and 17% plan to buy a new one sometime in the next year. Almost 94% own a laptop computer and 21% have a desktop computer, indicating some students have more than one computer at home. Tablets are also popular, with 46% of students owning one.

However, far fewer students are owners of video game consoles (38%), MP3 players (22%), smart TVs (21%), wearable tech such as FitBits and smartwatches (20%), e-readers (12%), or drones (1%). Some 53% of students have no plans to acquire any new tech devices in the next 12 months.

Tech accessories are another story, though. Ninety-one percent of students already own headphones and 28% are looking to buy a pair in the next year. More than 88% have a phone case, but 40% expect to purchase a new one. Most students also own a flash drive (84%), car charging device (68%), and laptop case (52%).

Students also have quite a few other tech accessories in their possession: audio speaker (48%), wireless mouse (46%), portable power bank (40%), tablet case (34%), charging station or dock (19%), wireless charging device (17%), laptop lap desk (15%). mount or stand for phone or tablet (10%), or e-reader case (9%).

Students Depend on Campus Store

Despite reports to the contrary, the campus store remains an important resource for course materials, according to a student panel survey conducted by OnCampus Research. The study found that 73% of the students said it was extremely important or very important to have a physical store on campus that sells course materials.

The survey also reported that 62% of students bought course materials in their campus store in the past year, compared to 27% who said they acquired course materials through the store’s website. In addition, 78% of students living on campus acquired course materials at their college store.

The survey also found 80% of community college students said a physical store on campus that sold course materials was important. The survey found that 71% purchased school supplies from the campus store, 37% bought food and beverages, and 36% picked up apparel and school-logo wear.

How Educational Technology Is Being Used

A 2014 Student Watch poll from OnCampus Research reported that 91% of all college students own a laptop and 81% own a smartphone. What they are doing with those devices in the classroom may come as a surprise.

To get a sense of how devices are being used in the classroom, this graphic from information gathered from the Pew Research Center, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and other studies illustrates the technology and the issues students and faculty have with it. For instance, 75% of the students said they are bringing their laptops into the classroom more often, but not necessarily to do things related to classwork.

While 83% of the students said they used their laptops to take class notes and 81% said they send emails during class, more than 40% said they used their laptops to surf the Internet and 25% played games. They also reported spending just six minutes each day on school-based emails and complained about professors sending emails.

The faculty reported that the benefits of having electronic devices in the classroom include gaming, online simulations, blogging and forums, and online learning. However, among the negatives are the distractions they cause, cheating, and lower grades. 

T-Word Won't Be in Students' Vocabulary

“Kids won’t even know what that word means,” Jeff Livingston, a McGraw-Hill Education vice president, is quoted as saying in an interview in U.S. News and World Report.

What word is he talking about? Typewriter? Mimeo? Icebox?

It’s textbooks. The students of the near future, according to Livingston, won’t recognize the word because all course materials will be online and provide an interactive experience. Heavy, print, linear tomes will be a thing of the past.

The U.S. News article mainly discusses what kind of computing devices students will need and how much parents should expect to budget for technology expenses, but Livingston’s comments about textbooks offer a glimpse of the direction where educational publishers are heading.

Students currently buy textbooks, regardless of format, from a store or e-commerce site, but Livingston says soon students will purchase all their online course materials through a fee folded into tuition or as a subscription. He estimates those fees/subscriptions will run about $300 to $400 per semester.

If parents were hoping to see some savings with all-digital materials, they may be disappointed. According to OnCampus Research’s 2013 Student Watch report, Retail Insight: Student Shopping Trends, the average student already pays approximately $662 per school year for course materials, mostly print—about the same as the annual estimate for digital. That figure doesn’t factor in any monies students might get for reselling their paper books later.

NACS' indiCo to Help Independent Stores

The news coming out of Kansas City during CAMEX 2013 Friday was about the new NACS subsidiary, indiCo, created to help independent college stores. It was also announced that NACS Inc. had signed a letter of intent to purchase the assets of Connect2One from Nebraska Book Co.

IndiCo, expected to officially launch on April 1, joins together NACS Media Solutions (NMS), OnCampus Research, and NACS Business Development with the goal of encouraging solutions and partnerships in support of independent college stores. In addition, the company will conduct more extensive research, data mining, and benchmarking for the industry.

Initially, indiCo will strive to gain deeper insights into the demands and preferences of student consumers. Many of the initiatives already under way, such as Grow Custom and Regional Print-on-Demand from NMS and studies conducted by OnCampus Research, will continue.

Connect2One would be integrated into indiCo to provide new ways for NACS to fulfill its mission to help independent college stores evolve.

"The alignment of Connect2One and indiCo demonstrates an exciting and renewed commitment by NACS and Nebraska Book Co. to the independent college store," said Brian Cartier, CEO of NACS. "We know that the expertise and reputation of Connect2One and its 25-year history of success will have a positive impact on college stores."

More details on indiCo will be available after its launch.

Surveys Show Digital Migration on the Rise

The latest information released from the Book Industry Study Group’s Student Attitudes Toward Content in Higher Education survey shows that students’ textbook rentals and online purchases are up, while the college store share of course material sales slipped.

The study reported that 11% of students in the survey were renting textbooks, a three-point rise from 2011. The number purchasing new textbooks slipped from 59% to 55%. At the same time, the Amazon share rose from 25% to 31%.

In addition, almost 48% of students said integrated learning systems help more with studying, compared to 45% using printed textbooks and 37% using e-textbooks.

“Our research shows that students are looking for greater value from their textbook-purchasing dollar,” said Angela Bole, deputy executive director of BISG. “How they define ‘value’ is rapidly evolving as they’re exposed to new services and products.”

CourseSmart also released information on students’ reliance on technology. The company’s survey showed that of the more than 500 college students responding, 98% use their electronic device for school and 67% can’t go for more than an hour without using digital technology.

The CourseSmart survey found that students are more likely to bring a laptop to class than a printed book by a 51% to 39% margin. It also showed that 58% of the students in the survey have taken an online course, 79% have submitted assignments online, and 71% have taken a test or quiz online.

“The survey underscores the undeniable influence technology has on today’s college experience,” said Sean Devine, CEO of CourseSmart. “As technology continues to evolve and digital devices become integral to the evolution of higher education, it’s encouraging to see the positive impact on learning outcomes as students utilize advanced devices and digital course materials to streamline and improve their learning environment.”

The OnCampus Research study, Student Watch 2012: Student Attitudes and Perceptions found that just 17% of students surveyed currently own an e-reading device and that 62% of those who own the gadget bought it for leisure reading, compared to just 39% using it for school. Additionally, just seven percent of the students who currently do not own an e-reader have plans to buy one in the near future.