NACS Student Watch Report: Course Materials Spending Stable, High Satisfaction with Access Programs

Contact: publicrelations@nacs.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OBERLIN, OHIO (June 10, 2025)—College students, on average, reported spending about the same as last year on their course materials during the 2024-25 academic year, according to the Student Watch™: Attitudes and Behaviors toward Course Materials: 2025 Report, the National Association of College Stores’ (NACS) annual survey of college students. Total course material spending for required materials totaled $341 per student for the year. Student spending this year is lower than at any point between 2007 and 2021 and only about half the spending in 2007-08 when students paid $701 on average for course materials.

Overall, students took an average of 8.7 courses during the 2024-25 academic year, about the same as last year. They also purchased the same number of materials, 8.2 on average, this year. Dividing students' total spending on required course materials by the number of courses they took results in average course material spending per course of $39. This is among the lowest amounts seen in the past two decades.

Excluding those who obtained all materials through a school provided discount access program, about the same percentage of students as last year purchased or rented materials. Seventy percent of students purchased at least one material and 15% percent rented at least one material for the spring 2025 semester. By comparison, 70% of students purchased at least one material and 21% rented at least one material for the spring 2024 semester. Upper-level students were less likely to purchase materials and more likely to rent.

A majority (57%) of students say they are satisfied with their day-one access program experience, with only 16% feeling dissatisfied, and 28% feeling neutral. Sixty-four percent of participants said the access program was better than other methods of obtaining course materials while 23% said it was about the same. Among non-participants, 59% believed day-one access would be a better option than other ways of obtaining course materials. Top reasons for satisfaction with access programs were convenience and having materials the first day of class.

Similar to last year, 74% of students said they had been assigned at least one free or non-paid-for material during the academic year. The number of students reporting being assigned free materials has slowly been increasing over the years but has remained steady for the past few years. Students this year were more likely to say they were provided free materials directly from their professor or instructor. Free-to-the-student materials included instructor handouts, website articles, class notes, professional journals and articles, web searches, social media, general consumer books (novels, for instance), and free textbooks. (While students did not pay for them directly, some of these sources are supported by student tuition and fees, such as instructor-developed materials and journal subscriptions at the campus library.)

This year, 33% of students preferred print and 37% preferred digital, making digital the top format choice for students for the second year in a row. Preference for print materials has been declining over time. Meanwhile, preference for digital materials has increased steadily since 2016. Older students, namely students older than 30, had stronger preference for print as did first-generation students. Racial and ethnic minorities were more likely than other students to prefer digital materials. The top reasons students prefer digital were that they don’t have to carry a physical book around, access on multiple devices, ability to copy/paste or print, easier to read/navigate than print, and immediate access after purchase.

Around one in four students decided not to acquire at least one course material. Students who skipped materials were more likely to consider dropping out, suggesting these students are struggling academically or with the costs of attendance. However, students who skipped acquiring materials only spent $30 less on average than students who obtained all materials.

Student Watch™ is developed by OnCampus Research™, the research arm of the National Association of College Stores. Other key findings from the report, which compiled responses from approximately 12,400 college students from 29 two- and four-year colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada, include:

• Tech spending remained low again this year, with relatively few students purchasing a new computer/laptop.
• More than half (51%) of purchased course materials were made at campus stores, 22% from Amazon, and the rest split between publisher websites and other sources.
• In spring 2025, more than 23% of students reported downloading a course material, unpaid, without proper authorization.
• About a quarter of students say they may not have sufficient resources to cover college expenses including housing, food, transportation, and course materials.
• In total, 88% of students said they had used digital materials for classes in the past year, about the same as last year. Of these students, 24% reported they interacted with digital content a great deal, 32% said they did so a lot, and 30% interacted with digital materials a moderate amount.
• Most students who purchased materials purchased at least some from their campus store (65% of students who purchase). This year more students reported purchasing from the campus store online than in-person.

Members of the media interested in a copy of the report should email publicrelations@nacs.org.

About The National Association of College Stores: The National Association of College Stores (NACS) is the professional trade association representing the collegiate retailing industry. NACS represents campus retailers and industry-related companies that supply course materials and other merchandise and services to campus stores. NACS provides education and other resources that help its member stores support student success, the campus experience, and the missions of higher education institutions.

About The NACS Foundation: In operation for almost four decades, the NACS Foundation is the only philanthropic resource for the campus store industry. Since its inception, it has disbursed more than $3 million for industry education and research and awarded more than 3,000 professional development grants to college store professionals.