The average college expenses for a public four-year school include room and board (42 percent), tuition and fees (39 percent), books and supplies (5 percent), transportation (5 percent), and other expenses (9 percent).
But students can sidestep some of the more burdensome expenses if they opt for digital courseware instead of going exclusively on campus. Students who take courses that engage digitally and in person can achieve content mastery twice as fast, according to Gates Foundation data cited in Cengage research.
Digital can offer more value, including:
- Open educational resources (OER)–OER has the potential to triple in use as primary courseware over the next 5 years.
- Inclusive digital access programs–Students can save up to 50 percent on courseware and up to 70 percent on eTexts through Inclusive Access programs.
- Digital courseware–52 percent of students saved money by using digital materials in the 2016-2017 academic year, and digital costs as much as 60 percent less than traditional print materials.
- Rental–43 percent of students rented at least one course material (print or digital) in the fall of 2016, compared to 40 percent in fall 2015, and students can save on average between 50 percent and 90 percent through textbook rental.
Click on the infographic below for a larger version:
Laura Ascione is the Editorial Director at eSchool Media. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland's prestigious Philip Merrill College of Journalism.
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