Students at Florida A&M University can plan on saving hundreds of dollars this school year now that FAMU has partnered with Cengage, an education and technology company. This will help students avoid the extensive financial burden of paying full price for books and other educational materials for the 2020-2021 academic school year.
In 2019, the Florida Board of Governors approved a plan of action to help students across the state be able to afford quality textbooks and many different other materials that will help improve learning for everyone. This partnership between FAMU and Cengage is an effort to meet the goals and expectations of the Board of Governors and the FAMU Board of Trustees.
Some students at the university are excited about the prospect of saving money on textbooks while others are hesitant about what this collaboration may entail.
“I would absolutely love cheaper books but how will it work? Will we get a certain amount for a set price? Will there only be e-books? I’d just like more details on the whole thing,” Morgan Sims, a fourth year pre-physical therapy student, said.
The university will be allowing students to purchase a subscription from the company for $123.36, giving them access to thousands of study guides, e-textbooks and other resources.
Not only are students excited but parents are as well. The cost of tuition and sending a child to college can stretch families’ budgets. The price for this subscription is cheaper than the price of one textbook or quality calculator.
“Only having to pay $123.36 for my daughter’s textbook is a huge stress reliever. One of her books was $175 last year and she was taking five classes. I’m very happy that the school has decided to partner up with this company and cut us parents some slack,” Inger Stephens, mother of aFlorida A&M student, said.
Many students also believe that this textbook subscription option is a great idea that promotes safety amid the coronavirus pandemic and uncertainty about the future of in-person learning.
“This online textbook option couldn’t have come at a better time, having to go physically buy books, that so many other people have touched and being in that crowded bookstore does not help prevent the spread of the Covid-19,” Jazmin Cook, a senior at FAMU, said.
The subscription will consist of access to course material reaching over 70 disciplines and 675 courses. Students who choose this new mode of learning will buy the subscription at FAMU’s bookstore on campus or possibly the university’s bookstore website.