By Giselle Rhoden and Jack Sintic
An email to the Bellarmine University community announcing a new way to deliver textbooks left many students wondering what will happen to their learning experience and their wallets.
On Feb. 9, Bellarmine President Dr. Susan Donovan sent an email that stated, “Beginning in Fall 2021, all books and course materials will be included as part of the cost of tuition and will be provided through the new Bellarmine OnCourse program.” This email also announced the tuition increase of $1,450 for the 2021-2022 academic year, and the increase includes $350 per semester for textbooks.
Bellarmine, in partnership with campus store vendor Follett Higher Education Group, will provide OnCourse to all students. OnCourse is the program that ensures students will have their course materials by the first day of classes. OnCourse aligns with Bellarmine’s mission of achievement, affordability and access, said Dr. Mike Marshall, vice president for enrollment, marketing and communications.
The Bellarmine Board of Trustees and Follett have discovered that students achieve more in their studies if they do not feel the need to drop certain courses because the textbook or other related materials cost too much, Marshall said.
Marshall said Follett and Bellarmine representatives will work together to find the most affordable book for every class and for every student. If there is a required course material for a class (such as a lab fee), the university will also cover the cost of those materials as a part of OnCourse.
Marshall said, “It allows us to meet students where they are.”
According to a recent Follett study, about 30% of students on average do not have access to their books on the first day of class. This would leave about 1,000 Bellarmine students without the course materials they need. Samantha Swick, Follett’s director of marketing and communication, said the goal is for every student to have access to their textbooks on the first day of classes. This is also a part of Bellarmine’s “strategic plan to advance equity,” said Haley Planicka, SGA public relations committee member and sophomore representative.
Swick said this program is like the K-12 learning experience. “You showed up to class and books were handed to you. They were paid for. They were paid for by your parents, the district or however books were funded … when you showed up day one to learn, you were provided a textbook that the teacher found important to facilitate that learning process,” she said.
How will students access books? Marshall said students will register for fall classes as normal. Based on each student’s course list, Follett prepares each order with the most affordable textbooks. Once the order is complete, students will receive an email about printed textbooks. Printed textbooks will be available for pick-up at the campus bookstore or another designated location on campus before the first day of class. Digital textbooks will also be available on Moodle the first day of classes.
If a student decides to add or drop a class with a digital textbook, the book will be removed from the student’s Moodle account and will be replaced with the correct textbook. Printed textbooks must be returned to the campus store, and they can be exchanged for a textbook for the new class.
Any students with special textbook needs must contact Disability Services. Ronda Purdy, director of disability services, said, “This policy is new information to me, too, so I’m still investigating how it may impact students who need an alternative text format or who use screen readers to access their textbook content.” She said she is confident Disability Services will be able to meet students’ needs by Fall 2021.
Although this initiative is designed to benefit students, it comes at a cost. Depending on which version is more affordable, students will receive either only a digital version of their textbook or only a printed version. Bellarmine’s blog (OnCourse FAQ) reports “roughly half of materials provided through OnCourse will be printed.” Marshall calls the differences in course material format the “nuances and idiosyncrasies” of the program.
For each student, Bellarmine is allocating $350 per semester for textbooks. The campus bookstore did not explain how this amount for textbooks was determined despite repeated attempts by Knights Media Network to get this specific information.
Some students think $350 for textbooks is outrageous.
“Complete BS!!,” Jordhan Kieres, a women’s soccer player, said in an Instagram comment. “I pay under at $250 dollars a semester if that for books!!!!!”
Swick said Follett’s research shows students save an average of $80 per three-credit class off the publisher list price for textbooks.
“This savings is consistent when evaluating adoptions from the past few years and considers the per credit hour pricing with the OnCourse program,” she said.
This amount is not specific to Bellarmine, but rather it represents the average saving based solely on Follett’s research.
Since the Feb. 9 email announcing OnCourse and the tuition increase, students have expressed their concerns to faculty, staff and SGA.
Kelze’ Riley, SGA vice president of community engagement and campus culture, asked students on Instagram how they felt about the initiative. “Honestly if I’m doing the math correctly, this is just more of a financial burden for me,” said Covy Giles, a music technology student in a post to Riley’s question on Instagram.
Sierra Petry, a senior biology student, said in a post: “I’m graduating, and I’m still angry about it. It’s not more accessible. It’s hiding the cost.”
SGA members said they understand students’ concerns. A statement on SGA’s Instagram said: “We would like to make it known we, as an assembly, do not support this initiative.” This post followed an assembly meeting with SGA and university faculty and staff.
Many members of SGA have expressed their own concerns as Bellarmine students. “A lot of students have a preference when it comes to whether they want their textbooks digital or in print,” said Planicka. “There’s just something about having the hard copy of a book that just makes me feel like I can learn better, especially if I can annotate in it, and especially ‘cause we are already staring at a screen for hours and hours a day. I don’t want to look at my digital textbook all day, too.”
Bellarmine is not the first Kentucky university to move to including textbooks and class materials with tuition. Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond is starting a similar program for the 2021-2022 academic year called EKU Booksmart. The Booksmart program is designed, similar to OnCourse, to provide students with their materials by the first day of classes. However, EKU’s Booksmart program gives students free textbooks.
“They haven’t raised tuition or anything,” said Zachery Combest, editor-in-chief of the Eastern Progress, the campus newspaper. In fact, the change is expected to cost EKU money.
Kristi Middleton, chief external affairs officer for EKU, said in an email that tuition for the upcoming 2021-22 school year has not yet been set. However, the “Booksmart program is fully separate from tuition and the average annual $1,200 cost of books will be removed from EKU’s overall ‘cost of attendance’ for 2021-22,” Middleton wrote in the message.
In a story Combest wrote on Dec. 14 for the Eastern Progress, Middleton said the program will cost the university an estimated $4 million to $5 million per year.
Booksmart is expected to lower the overall cost of attendance for students. According to EKU’s website, the “estimated savings add up to $1,200 per year.” Combest said some students could save even more through EKU Booksmart.
This saving has made EKU students excited for the change. “Oh they [students] were happy,” Combest said. “It’s good for students like me because I’m only a junior, so for my senior year my textbooks will be paid for.”
EKU Booksmart also allows students to have their books in a hardcopy format, something that Bellarmine students emphasized as a concern for the OnCourse program. “What they’re doing is they’re all going to be hardcopy textbooks,” Combest said. “They’ll ship you the textbooks to your house, or wherever, or you can pick them up from the bookstore as well.”
This differs from OnCourse’s approach of providing either digital or hardcopy books based on books’ costs. The goal of the Booksmart program is similar to OnCourse in the sense that students can have their materials on the first day of classes.
EKU’s Booksmart program is operating in a trial run. Combest said, “It’s only going to be for the 2021-2022 academic year… then after that they’ll determine if we should still do it or go back to paying for textbooks.”
Donovan said in the Feb. 9 email the OnCourse program is a part of “a few noteworthy enhancements.” The enhancements referenced in the email include returning to in-person courses in the fall.
SGA, however, has not given up on fighting against this new initiative. “It’s not going to create an equitable situation for everybody,” Planicka said.