Looking toward the fall term, many college stores are making plans for multiple possible scenarios they may face. For many, there is still a lot unknown. However, lowering costs as well as saving time and employee resources remains important in every scenario. For this Campus Store Conversation, we invited three college stores to share what they are doing to help lower costs and efficiently manage course materials.
Course materials are a vital part of education. Without the necessary materials for class, student performance suffers, and students can easily fall behind. This is one of the reasons why college affordability and textbook affordability are such important issues in higher education. The “Navigating Complex Course Material Trends” white paper gives your campus store a complete guide to today’s most effective cost-saving solutions.
Students expect to have a choice when it comes to course material formats. College stores that can offer a variety of affordable options can better compete with online competition and bring more students to the bookstore. That’s why MBS developed its new wantlist tool, SimpleSource.
The SDSU Bookstore’s relationship with students begins before classes start. Students need a reliable place where they can purchase their course materials, but great campus stores like the SDSU Bookstore offer so much more. The SDSU Bookstore educates freshman students and their families during orientations by giving them tips on how to save money on their course materials.
The course material industry offers a variety of ways to lower textbook costs, but the most tried and true way is to provide students with greater access to used books. However, maximizing the number of used books your store has available can take a lot of time and resources. That’s why MBS created SimpleSource. SimpleSource gives stores an easy way to manage their entire wantlist process from wholesale inventory to marketplace sourcing.
As an answer to the demand for more affordable course material options, publishers developed the publisher consignment rental program. Publisher consignment rentals are a collection of rental-only titles that have been selected by the publisher. These books are offered at a lower price point than a new book and provide faculty with the latest editions for their classrooms. But what does that mean for the college store? Recently, we with sat down with the Mineral Area College Bookstore Manager Aaron Miller to discuss his experience carrying publisher consignment rentals.
Many factors go into student success, such as retention rates, college affordability, student preparedness, student engagement, etc. By supporting the whole student, schools can improve outcomes and help students persist. However, initiatives with campus-wide support produce the best results. Whether a campus initiative or a bookstore initiative, communication is vital to its success.
Recently, MBS Vice President of Inventory Control Mike Tolly sat down with us to share his thoughts and impressions about his panel at CAMEX, Publisher Consignment Rentals: Implementing In-store and at Scale. There, he was joined by Jessica Hickman, senior director course materials services at IndiCo, and Kevin Leitner, director of bookstore operations for Florence O. Wilson Bookstore at the College of Wooster. During the panel they discussed the opportunities and challenges publisher consignment rentals present to today’s independent college stores.
The evolving nature of the educational landscape has inspired recent course material innovation. From new formats to new delivery mechanisms, each creative solution helps improve student learning, preparedness and affordability. However, it also means that course materials are no longer as simple as they once were.
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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