Today, RedShelf announced an expanded partnership with the San Diego State University Bookstore, through which RedShelf will serve as the exclusive digital provider of course materials for the university’s new Equitable Access Program. Through this program, all undergraduate students will have access to all their course materials prior to the start of classes. As planning is still underway, a program launch date has not yet been set.
The SDSU Bookstores’ Equitable Access program aims to improve student affordability, readiness, and success by ensuring that every student has access to all their required course materials. This program allows students to budget for their course materials each semester with a charge based on how many credits they are taking and not on a per book variable rate. Students will also have the option to opt-out of the program during a free access period.
Since launching in 2016, the SDSU Immediate Access program, used in only some courses, has saved students more than $24.3 million compared to the price of buying new print books, and more than $6.7 million compared to digital prices on the open market. To date, more than 278,000 students have gained affordable access to their materials before the first day of class with Immediate Access.
“The SDSU Bookstore has been at the forefront of the digital transformation, and we’re honored to support them in this next impactful effort for students,” said Greg Fenton, CEO and co-founder of RedShelf. “Roughly one in three college students are going without essential course materials, largely due to cost, and half of them say that it negatively impacts their learning. Providing course materials to every student prior to the start of classes at an affordable price can be a game-changer, and we’re honored to continue supporting SDSU in this effort to improve equity and access.”
The RedShelf eReader, part of RedShelf’s end-to-end Content Delivery System (CDS), was recently named Publishing Software of the Year by EdTech Breakthrough. The dynamic cloud-based platform can be accessed online or offline from any device and includes a range of built-in study tools and accessibility features. RedShelf’s CDS connects our campus partners to more than one million eBook titles from thousands of publishers—a key in scaling digital content delivery.