Hallie Chastain
Editor
WBooks+ is a new course material model designed to make getting books from Mississippi University for Women more accessible and help lower the cost for students.
It rolled out at the beginning of this semester, leaving many students confused about how they should buy their books.
Here’s how it was designed to operate: Students were charged $20 per credit hour unless they chose to opt out. The choice to opt out of the program is for students who decide to find their books elsewhere, such as Amazon, Chegg or the Bookend, making the purchases that better fit their budgets. For some students, participating in the program would cost more than simply purchasing their books elsewhere.
However, many students were confused about the opt-out process.
The Office of Academic Affairs was responsible for sending messages encouraging students to check their emails and make decisions. In addition, statements were placed on Canvas and on the portal urging students to make the best decision for themselves.
One snag in the process was the fact that some students didn’t check their university email this summer. Students who did not check their email and opt out of the program were automatically included in WBooks +. This left some of them confused about what had happened, especially when they received messages asking if their books would be picked up.
The university extended the opt-out deadline after the semester started, but some students still didn’t register a preference.
“There’s also this process where we need the students to confirm that they want to pick up or do they want to have it mailed. And if you have students that haven’t opted out, and they haven’t confirmed their delivery method, and at that point, we don’t know that they’ve heard at all about the program,” said Scott Tollison, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.
“And that’s the reason we sent so many messages out, even at the end of that opt out. We sent a targeted email to the specific students that had not taken an action and and for those who had text messages or cell phone numbers in the system, we also sent them a text message as well.”
Tollison and his team worked hard during the launch, helping restock books and listening to the students’ concerns and questions. At the same time, observing the process and assisting also allowed them to make adjustments to their messages by using bold and red text to get students’ attention. In addition, to make the messages more straightforward and concise, they continued refining them to make them more understandable for the students.
Tyler Williams, a senior Professional Studies major, felt that WBooks+ was not the right move for her.
“I was like, I only needed two books, and my books aren’t like exceeding that amount or not even close to that amount. So, if I opt in, like, will I get a refund for the rest of them that I didn’t use and no, you won’t,” said Williams.
However, the program encourages students to learn to budget and provides a set price that allows students to know exactly how much their books will cost before the semester begins. The new program is a tool that will benefit some students but will not always be the most cost-effective decision for others.
Sophomore pre-nursing major Sasha Deloach felt it was better to opt out of the program, since the resources for her books were found for free online. If she had opted to stay in the program, it would have cost her $350.
“They should compare prices beside each other just because I didn’t know how much my books would have been if I didn’t opt out,” said Deloach. “That should make it clear to students how much you know they’re spending compared to how much they can spend using the program.”
Overall the feedback from students confirms that the program can be a valuable addition and tool, but the information needs to more clear in the future. Also, students said a side-by-side comparison of the prices for books through the program versus the price a student would pay other retailers would allow for the decision to be made more quickly and effectively. The WBooks+ course material model is a useful tool for those students who spend more money on books and can be a useful model for the future.