On Inclusive Access

Copyright University of New Mexico Bookstore

The world of textbook publishers is changing quickly. Publishers, including Pearson, McGraw-Hill, Cengage, Scholastic, Houghton-Mifflin and others now see print-based resources as business model that is no longer sustainable on college campuses. Hence, these same publishers are now moving toward different options for students, including subscription-based services. Enter Inclusive Access. 

What is Inclusive Access? 

According to UC Davis, The Inclusive Access program is a new textbook model in collaboration with top publishers that converts books into digital content. All students in a class buy into the content, lowering the cost for everyone. All students in that class also get access to the content on the first day, and won’t be billed for it until after the tenth day of class. The digital content also includes Interactive Learning Platforms.

These products often integrate with popular learning management systems, such as Canvas and Blackboard. Faculty simply adopt the digital content and it is loaded into the course. Students do not need to leave the LMS environment in order to access the content.

How Much does Inclusive Access Cost?

Prices for Inclusive Access content varies depending upon the course materials chosen by the instructor, but most prices are lower than the cost to access the material directly through the publisher, and average 50% to 70% discount from the cost of the printed text. Normally, access to the content is free for the first 10 days of the course. After 10 days, all enrolled students who have not opted out of the program or dropped the course will have the discounted price billed to their student account. According to McKenzie (2017) the inclusive-access explosion appears to have been precipitated by a 2015 Department of Education regulation that enabled institutions to include books and supplies in their tuition or fees. Now, instead of buying textbooks with credit cards or cash, students can be automatically charged for course materials by the institution when they enroll. To do this, institutions must give students the option to opt out, and they must have deals with publishers to ensure materials are “available to students below competitive market rates.”

How Are Bookstores Responding to Inclusive Access?

Actually, bookstores support this model because they receive a portion of the sales. While profit margins are smaller than print, there is also less overhead in stocking and inventory. David Wiley (2014) points to Print on Demand as similar model that bookstores are moving toward as publishers vacate print book sales. Wiley points to an infographic from the National Association of College Stores  (NACS) that shows bookstores only receiving 3.7% of pre-tax income on sales of books (Image 2). In other words, a book that $150 yields $5.55 for the bookstore. Wiley goes on to say that "the college bookstore actually makes more pre-tax profit on the $18 print-on-demand open textbook than they do on the $150 publisher biology book, while earning the same per-book percentages for overhead and personnel."

 

Image 2: Textbook Dollar Breakdown

How Long Has Inclusive Access Been Around

This model has been available since at least 2014, if not earlier. UC Davis initiated a two-year pilot program staring in 2014 that extended through 2015. According to a survey they conducted following the pilot, 45% of students preferred the Inclusive Access content, 39% preferred print, and 13% had no  preference. 74% of the students in pilot had no problem with the automatic billing model. 62% of their students found the digital content to be more effective than print.

Challenges of Inclusive Access

There remain barriers to wider adoption of Inclusive Access. For one thing, the advantages to faculty must be articulated from the onset and they must be willing to adopt and utilize this content within the LMS. Furthermore, any initiative should be preceded by a pilot program that educates students as to the advantages and disadvantages of the program (Lorgan, 2015). Moreover, campus policies may prohibit mandatory fees without an exhaustive approval process. Students must be provided an option to opt-out of the program should campus policy not support these types of mandatory fees.

References

McKenzie, L. (2017) Inclusive Access Takes Off. Retrieved February 2019 from: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/11/07/inclusive-access-takes-model-college-textbook-sales

Lorgan, J. (2015). The Inclusive Access Model. Retrieved from: https://www.slideshare.net/bisg/jason-lorgans-presentation-20150318 

UC Davis Bookstore. Retrieved February 2019 from:https://ucdavisstores.com/SiteText.aspx?id=37700#hide5

Wiley, D. (2014). On OER and College Bookstores. Retrieved February, 2019 from: https://opencontent.org/blog/archives/3168