Easing into Affordable Access
by Dan Angelo
One simple truth about implementing a new course materials program: The move to an affordable access model is a significant change, and since many resist change, it will probably become an issue. Administrators have to be sold on the idea and faculty have been known to throw up concerns.
Building relationships and communicating details about how the programs can benefit students are key ingredients to getting people on board.
“For a transition to the program, or life in general, it’s all about your relationships,” said Aaron Ochoa, director, UC Davis Stores, University of California Davis, during the CAMEX25 session Traditional Retail, Online, Hybrid, or Managed: Discussing Today’s Course Materials Options. “Build them. Figure out who you need to know. Make sure to build those relationships because that’s the most important thing about all of this.
“And develop a thick skin,” he continued. “I took things extremely personal when I heard things from faculty or students or anybody, which is one thing I wish I didn’t do.”
Ochoa was part of a panel discussion that included Rico Ovalles, associate director, academic resources, The Beach Shops, California State University Long Beach; Doug Lang, director, Bay Tree Campus Store, University of California Santa Cruz; and Erin Green, assistant director, Bulldog Bookstore, Navarro College, Wachahaxie, TX. Chad Stith, senior director, account development, VitalSource, served as moderator.
The UC Davis Stores is one of the pioneers of fee-based affordability programs, using a flat-fee program for the last five years. The Beach Shop launched its flat-fee program last fall, while the Bay Tree Campus Store is relatively new to an affordable access program.
“Our mission is student success,” Ovalles said. “We attended the Textbook Affordability Conference (a working conference hosted by NACS that brings together campus stakeholders to explore textbook affordability strategies and offer solutions) when the whole affordable access program was gaining more traction. I had my bosses come to it and they saw it was about saving students money.”
“Lowering costs for students is our constant North Star, along with providing materials quickly,” Lang added. “We were way behind the digital trend, so we just implemented inclusive access in 2023. We went from nothing to about 8,000 (course materials) deliveries this coming fiscal year.”
Green has been working on an access model, known as Immediate Access on the Navarro campuses, since 2017. The idea was turned down then, so she revisited it in 2018, and then again in 2019 when a new president was in charge and more amendable to change. She brought an industry spokesperson from VitalSource to that meeting and finally got the green light for the program to start. Unfortunately, COVID hit and stalled the process until students started returning to campus in the summer of 2020.
“Every class was now online and students started to wonder why some of their classes were not in the access program,” Green explained. “Things spiraled with our program because of our start date. We went from five classes to 40 classes by the next semester. Now we are about 80% in the program.”
Getting buy-in from the administration and department heads is vital to any success, but getting students involved may actually be more important. They become very helpful when they see how easy it is to get their course materials through an affordable access program compared to the hoops they must jump through for classes that do not use it.
“We started with the administration, which was open to it,” Ovalles said. “When we got to our faculty, the faculty passed a resolution against it. From there, we visited our student senate and they were very much for the program. They passed a program in favor of it, and because of that, we were able to continue.”
“It spreads pretty easily when students see how easy it is for one class and not for another,” said Green. “Students were telling their instructors they should be in the program.”
Pilot programs can also be an important tool since its limited size can alleviate concerns of reluctant stakeholders. In addition, a pilot provides the store with vital data to prove just how successful the program can be in cutting costs for students.
“For us, the best way was to be able to get in front of the faculty,” Ochoa said. “I went to each chair or each department and told them I knew they had faculty meetings every month and asked them if I could have 10 minutes of one of those meetings. I want them to see the program, but I also wanted them to see my face. I wanted them to see that I was the person if something went wrong or if a student had an issue.”
A powerful story can also be helpful. The story for Ochoa was about a UC Davis graduate and store employee who was a first-generation college student. He had wanted to study aeronautical engineering. His mother gave him an envelope with all the money she was able to save for his books, but it wasn’t enough to cover even the first engineering book he needed. So he changed his major to political science because he could afford those course materials.
“It’s not a fun story, but it is a true story,” Ochoa said. “Your students are going through this. These are experiences our students are having and you have to make sure that your faculty, who are getting paid six figures and don’t have these problems, understand that because sometimes they lose sight of it.”
Green uses her position in the store to get to help to every department that she can on her campus.
“My one takeaway is you are the most important person (on this issue),” she said. “Merchandise is fun, but no one comes to complain about a crappy hoodie. You are the most important person for the three or four weeks at the beginning of the semester because students will come to you.”
Lang added: “Build your relationships, communicate, continue to build on the communications process, tell your stories, and pilot programs. Our whole VitalSource program began with a simple link on our website that went to VitalSource. We didn’t have to do anything else.”
