The VitalSource Resource

As colleges and universities near the end of a truly remarkable spring semester, institution leaders around the world are preparing for the possibility that students may not be able to return to traditional, in-person learning experiences anytime soon due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

Kimberly Holland and her team at Kennesaw State University Bookstore are on a mission to support student learning. If you’re surprised a campus store’s primary goal is student success, you may be shocked to learn that campus stores across the country are leading the charge to improve course materials affordability and access. In fact, at KSU, the store team has spent nearly six years working to bring to life a program that offers affordable, day-one access to course materials, all to benefit students.

As we enter 2019 and return to school and work, it’s clear that we’re finally in a digital-first world for learning materials.

Our internal stats really illustrate this macro trend. At this time last year, we had enabled a total of 7.8 million learners to access the learning materials that enabled them to excel in their pursuit of new skills and degrees. Now, we’ve almost doubled that number with over 15 million active learners; we rank in the top few hundred websites in the world during our busiest periods..

Institutions across the country are looking for ways to reduce the cost of education. One of the many options available to do this is open educational resources (OER). However, institutions frequently report challenges with OER discoverability, accessibility, and ease of distribution. With careful planning and the right tools, OER can be part of your digital course materials program—and your campus can get the same benefits as those offered by traditional content.

 Digital course materials are more robust, interactive, and valuable than many realize. Research shows that 60% of students feel that digital learning technology—like Bookshelf®, the world’s leading digital content platform—has improved their grades. Additionally, 88% believe they get better grades with interactive content vs. print.

But to maximize the impact of these tools, it takes an instructor who is comfortable teaching with digital. One way to achieve this is to learn from other instructors like Hannah Mullis, Adjunct Instructor of Communication at William Peace University.