This academic year, the Philosophy and Arts Department of the College of Arts & Sciences worked with McGraw-Hill publishers, the WilmU bookstore, and the Information Technology Department to pilot a new program aimed at providing lower-cost textbooks for students.

The program, called Inclusive Access, converts textbooks into digital content at less than half the cost of paper textbooks and streamlines the process for students to receive their e-books. In the fall semester, all students enrolled in Intro to Critical Thinking (PHI 100) automatically received access to their textbooks when they registered for the course, and their student accounts were billed at the end of the drop/add period.

“Our initial pilot of the process involved all 53 sections of PHI 100 with more than 900 students enrolled,” says Department Chair Dr. Danny Walker. “Students were pleased with the lower cost of the textbooks and appreciated the simplified process that gave them access to their e-books on the first day of class. Instructors were enthused about the lack of technical issues that students sometimes experience with the use of digital content and were supportive of continuing the inclusive access program.”

For the spring semester, he adds that the college is expanding the number of courses participating in the program and they look forward to working with their partners to better serve WilmU students.

—Janice Colvin