UH System approves program for textbooks at flat cost
University of Houston students will now have the option to pay a flat fee for textbooks as part of a new program meant to reduce the overall cost of learning materials.
Administrators will offer students the choice to opt in or out of the program beginning in the fall 2023 semester. If they opt in, the charge will come directly from the university, meaning the textbooks qualify for financial aid, according to a policy approved Thursday by the University of Houston System Board of Regents.
“What was really important for our students was having the ability to direct their financial aid to pay for course materials,” said Emily Messa, senior associate vice chancellor at the UH System. “That was huge.”
UH is one of a growing number of institutions to move to “textbook-access” programs, in which universities provide an online trove of textbooks to students for a set fee. In UH’s case, students who opt in can also choose to receive physical copies of their books for no additional cost – but they will have online access by the first class day, regardless.
The system approved the flagship’s fee at $299 in the fall and spring semesters and $180 in the summer. The University of
Houston Downtown, University of Houston Victoria and University of Houston Clear Lake will phase into the program, for now charging between $10 and $120 per course.
Students receive the charge when registering for classes, posted as an incidental fee from the university, Messa said. They have the option to opt in or out until the 12th class day, and a reimbursement will be credi
ted to their account if they change their minds.
Not every student will find the program their most cost-effective option, although many should, Messa said. A yearlong pilot at UH saved more than 52,000 participants a combined $2.9 million, but projected savings with wider implementation could reach up to $254 per student, or $6.4 million per semester, according to system officials.
Estimates of what the average four-year university student spends on textbooks are decreasing around the U.S., possibly because of options to rent books at lower costs as well as the rising use of free instructional materials online. The College Board found in an annual survey that in the 2022-2023 school year, students at public four-year universities budgeted an average of $340 for course materials.
The UH system estimates that the program will save students between 40 and 60 percent on textbook prices, and revenues from the fees will bring UH $416,000 per year – an amount that will offset commission losses for direct book sales in the campus bookstore.
Student body president Joshua Martin said he knows the utility of the Cougar Textbook Access Program, UH’s iteration of the system’s textbook initiative, will depend on the student’s major. As a political science student, his textbook costs don’t nearly crest the $299 flat fee, but he knows of friends in economics or business majors that have much pricier textbooks.
Textbooks have long been considered a burdensome cost of attendance for many students at institutions around the country, and the same is true at the UH System universities, said Deborah Huebler, executive director of auxiliary services at the University of Houston.
“We’ve heard from students that they’ve had to do without books until they got their refunds from financial aid,” Huebler said.
Some UH students are already familiar with the Cougar Textbook Access Program after participating in the pilot. While junior Mary Gamez said she doesn’t believe her textbooks will cost enough to necessitate opting in next semester, she liked the ease of the program because she had access to her textbooks online and in one place.
“I’m glad they’re implementing it here,” Gamez said. “I don’t have to pay for the books at the bookstore, and sometimes they’re a little bit more expensive there.”
Martin said he feels students need to be aware that they need to opt out of the program, especially so they don’t get saddled with a fee that’s higher than what they need to pay.
Martin said he plans for the Student Government Association to go to every freshman orientation this summer to inform them about the program.
“It’s going to really help students save money, but we can really do our part in outreach and let them know about the opt out,” he said.
Huebler and Messa added that many professors who participated in the pilot preferred the new system. Professors choose the same textbooks they would if they were only in physical formats – meaning they’re not limited to a prescribed set of choices – and digital materials are loaded onto a university-created learning management system for students to access, Messa said.
About 85 percent of students surveyed from the flagship’s pilot said they also preferred for all of their classes to be offered under the Cougar Textbook Access Program.
Carlos Garcia, a senior, said he usually doesn’t buy textbooks because they’re so expensive. But, he said, he would be more inclined to buy them using financial aid.
“I use them from my friends, honestly,” Garcia said. “They’re always the hardcover, super thick.”