As the demand for college affordability increases so does the need for low-cost course materials. Open Educational Resources (OER) have been around for decades but have been slow to gain widespread usage on college campuses. However, recent campus, state and federal OER initiatives have doubled the number of instructors who report using OER in at least one course.
In today’s digital world, convenience is key. Don’t want to go to the grocery store? No problem. You can order online, and your purchase will be brought to your car or delivered to your home. Don’t feel like running down the road to pick up a new flashlight? No problem. It will be shipped to you in two days. Convenience is the new normal for all consumers, including students.
When faced with moving to a smaller location, the Belmont Store changed their textbook distribution and delivery to take the student experience to the next level.
Foreword Online will return on January 7, 2019. Happy holidays from all of us to you.
The average person will spend a third of their life working. With that much of our lives wrapped up in serving others, creating or selling, we need to see the purpose in what we do. Students employees aren’t different. Splitting their time between school, work, friends and sports, they want to see or understand the ways they make a difference.
College stores depend on keeping a steady stream of student foot traffic throughout the year. Regular, well-planned bookstore events and sales can increase student and faculty engagement while positioning the store as a campus social hub. We recently sat down with Carissa Drake, bookstore coordinator at Riverland Community College, to discuss bookstore events and the best ways to reach the entire campus community.
Gen Z, millennials, Gen X, baby boomers, the silent generation: is there really a difference between these groups when it comes to shopping? Every generation wants a good experience that is convenient. Everyone wants to feel like they are purchasing a quality product at a good price. It is unlikely a customer of any age will come into your store and demand a terrible experience or complain that they didn’t have to wait long enough to be helped. Core consumer expectations don’t vary all that much from generation to generation. So why does Gen Z research matter? Why does your store need to understand today’s students and their motivation?
What’s the biggest retail shopping day of the year? It’s not Black Friday. Actually, December 23rd and Super Saturday (the last Saturday before Christmas) have replaced Black Friday as the busiest shopping days of the year, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the entire holiday season from Thanksgiving through the New Year is primed with shoppers who are ready to spend their money on bargains. But, how can college stores take advantage of this annual gluttony of consumerism?
In the changing educational landscape, colleges and universities need ways to improve the student experience, increase retention rates and revenue, and meet the student demand for a more affordable college education. The bookstore can play a significant role in supporting your institutional mission and helping students achieve long-term success.
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