Cal U launches program to connect students to textbooks | Education | heraldstandard.com
ab1630's bookmarks 2018-03-11
Summary:
"The staff in the Office of Academic Success at the California University of Pennsylvania understands that the students most at risk of dropping out are the school’s newest. The team set out this school year to ensure that all of the university’s freshmen and new transfer students have access to an integral — but pricey — part of the educational process that will hopefully keep them enrolled next school year: textbooks. Dr. Daniel Engstrom, associate provost and associate vice president for academic success, estimates that students at Cal U spend $500 to $600 a semester on textbooks, which are ever-increasing in price, he said. ...
The campus’ Student Success committee, tasked with breaking down barriers that stand in the way of students being successful, developed a five-part plan to combat the issue, he said.
That plan included updating the university’s textbook ordering software to allow faculty members to choose the cheapest options, piloting with the psychology department the use of open educational resources — freely accessible, peer-reviewed online books — for all Psychology 100 classes, and promoting the ability for students who receive financial aid to use any excess funds to immediately purchase textbooks, rather than waiting weeks into the semester for a refund check.
For every 100-level course offered at Cal U, the Office of Academic Success purchased one copy of each textbook to place on reserve in the university’s Manderino Library, which came at a cost of about $7,000.
Faculty members donated copies of textbooks for higher-level courses to be placed on reserve, as well, bringing the library’s current collection of textbooks to 121 for students to access in-house, said Engstrom.
Perhaps the most notable piece of the program affects students who identify as not being able to afford school-related expenses.
The university has established an emergency fund fueled by donations for the sole purpose of helping students afford textbooks. Students are vetted by Office of Academic Success staff, which connects them to emergency funding or other available resources to ensure they can buy textbooks."