Higher Education Textbooks: Student Watch Key Findings
/As colleges and universities welcome students back to campus, it's a good time to revisit some of the findings from the National Association of College Stores' (NACS) Spring Study. Higher Education publishers are deep in the trenches, dealing with disruptions from Amazon, proliferation of digital distribution channels, and pricing transparency issues
In the Student Watch 2015 to 2016 Academic Year Report, NACS provides a number of useful attitudes and behavior toward course materials that should be interesting to higher ed publishers:
use of digital materials continued its slow and steady growth with 6 out of 10 students using at least one digital component during the fall 2015
17% of students said they had not yet used a digital format during their college career
print is still the preferred textbook format
26% prefer a print book with digital component
students spent an average of $602 on course materials during the year, compared with $563 last year
the campus store remains the top source for course materials purchases
the second most popular source for course materials is Amazon
the rentals market appears to have plateaued with about 40% of students renting at least one unit during both the fall 2014 and 2015 terms
during the spring 2016 term, rentals accounted for 24% of the units purchased and 17% of the dollars spent
convenience and lower cost remain the top reasons for acquiring digital
From the National Association of College Stores. Used with permission.
For more information and to grab a copy of the full report, click here.
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