Aggie Access, flat-rate program for textbooks, starting in fall semester
On Monday, the Utah State University Campus Store announced its new Aggie Access textbook program, which will take effect in fall semester.
“Aggie Access is a flat rate textbook program to help make textbooks more predictable and easier for students, convenient to access and make sure that they have all the required textbooks on the first day of class without having to exert too much effort,” said Clarissa Peterson, course materials manager at the campus store.
The new flat-rate program will charge students $250 to access all their required textbooks for the semester. Aggie Access applies to textbooks for all undergraduate courses, and it includes both physical textbooks and e-books.
The $250 rate is for spring and fall semesters; Aggie Access will cost $150 for summer semesters.
The fee for Aggie Access will automatically appear in students’ tuition bills, but there are options to opt out.
There will still be the option to purchase individual books a la carte. Students who would prefer to buy their textbooks individually instead of using the $250 flat-rate option can easily opt-out.
“We understand that this program doesn’t necessarily fit every student, so there are options,” Peterson said.
Depending on what students are studying and what textbooks they need for their courses, the Aggie Access flat rate might be a more expensive option than what their books would cost individually.
Campus store director Jason Brown said they decided on the flat rate prices based on two models they ran. One of the models was done internally and the other externally.
“Looking at other universities across the nation, there’s a lot that have done a program like this. Most of them over time have ended up dropping the price as the program matures, and they start to leverage materials such as OER courses and things like that,” Brown said. “Our hope is, over the course of the next five years, we actually are able to drive the price down as we learn more and as the program matures, and we build better relationships with vendors in this type of program.”
The workers at the campus store will be available to help students figure out what option is best for them.
“You can opt out of the flat rate and choose to purchase individual items. Or you can even opt out of that and go without altogether. You don’t have to participate in any portion if you don’t want to,” Peterson said.
Students who opt out of the program or choose to purchase textbooks individually will be refunded within 24 to 48 hours.
Another change coming to the campus store is that students will no longer be able to rent physical textbooks.
Physical textbooks will still be available through Aggie Access or to be purchased individually.
Peterson explained those who need physical textbooks will receive an email from the campus store saying it has those books for them. Students will be able come into the store to pick up their books.
Distance education or statewide students can have their physical textbooks shipped to them at no extra charge.
“More and more publishers are going digital,” Peterson said. “Print books are becoming harder and harder to get. So in doing this, we can create this centralized location to make it easier for students to access those digital materials.”
Students will be able to automatically access all their e-books on their Canvas bookshelf. All of the e-books will be in the same place, so they will no longer have to look in every course individually.
Brown said students will have time at the beginning of each semester to decide what works best for them that semester.
“You have three weeks to test drive and decide, ‘I’d like to do this,’ or ‘I don’t like that,’ and then decide what’s the right fit for you,” Brown said.
Students will able to see their options pertaining to the program for each semester when they log into Canvas.
The new program has been in the works for about two years. Peterson started by meeting with different schools around the country with similar programs to see what worked and what feedback they were getting.
Peterson and Brown said they had to meet with university administration to get approval on the program. They then started working with all the colleges and departments within the university to gather information and resources they would need to get Aggie Access off the ground.
For more information on Aggie Access, visit the campus store website.