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Education Must be More Attainable for All Learners
91HUB Hill believes every student deserves access to the necessary resources to achieve their educational goals. However, for too many learners, cost remains a significant barrier. That’s why we are committed to partnering with institutions’ affordable access programs, clearing the path to an education of value with high-quality learning materials at the lowest cost, empowering all students to succeed from day one.
Myth vs. Fact
Affordable access programs, like Inclusive Access (IA) or Equitable Access (EA), are innovative course material delivery models that help higher education institutions provide students with access to course materials on the first day of class at a discounted price. These models continue to gain popularity, with more than 1,700 institutions (and growing) making affordable access programs available to their students to help increase student success and decrease costs.
Setting the record straight.
Unfortunately, there are several misconceptions about affordable access programs that need to be addressed. In the following Myth vs. Fact document, the Association of American Publishers (AAP) offers detailed clarifications of many of them.
FACT:
Just the opposite. Affordable access models were instituted by colleges and universities as part of the U.S. Department of Education’s regulations in 2015 that permit institutions of higher education to charge students for course materials alongside tuition and fees, if the materials are available by the 7th day of class, at below competitive market rates. Students are provided the option to opt out. These regulations allowed institutions to negotiate volume-based pricing with education publishers and 3rd party retailers ultimately providing students with convenient, affordable options for accessing their required course materials on the first day of class, and at a significantly discounted price.
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FACT:
No, recent data has shown that average student spending on course materials has steadily declined over the past decade:
- Student Watch: a recent survey found a drop of 45% in student spending on course materials over the past ten years, averaging $342 for the 2023-2024 academic year. The Student Watch findings come from a survey involving more than 16,000 students across 36 institutions.
- Student Monitor: another recent report also indicates a 45% decline in student spending on course materials over the past ten years, averaging $332 for the 2023-2024 academic year. The Student Monitor findings come from comprehensive, one-on-one campus interviews conducted among four-year, full-time undergraduates attending 94 colleges and universities.Ěý
The two organizations have different methodologies, which can result in slightly different figures, although their findings are quite similar. They agree that the overall trend of student spending on course materials has declined over the last decade, allowing more students to access low-cost materials.
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FACT:
Under the framework set up by the U.S. Department of Education, institutions of higher education and their affiliated bookstores are required to implement an opt-out process for students who elect not to purchase their materials through an affordable access program. Price disclosure and transparency of the opt-out process is a shared best practice so that students are fully aware of their options in obtaining their required course materials. How the opt-out policy is communicated is determined by the institution. 

- Here is an of Auburn University's opt-out process for its Inclusive Access program.
- Here is an of price disclosure and transparency of the opt-out process from UC Davis’s Equitable Access program.
FACT:
Education publishers continue to make affordability a top priority, offering high-quality content and courseware in a variety of formats and delivery models proven to dramatically reduce the cost to students—not just through programs like Inclusive and Equitable Access, but also through print rental, digital subscription models, and individual learning apps. To be clear, an institution and its affiliated bookstore are responsible for determining, implementing, and communicating the final discounted retail price to students, as well as the designated opt-out policy.
FACT:
Institutions and their affiliated bookstores communicate the charges which will be posted to student accounts in numerous ways (via email, the institution or affiliated bookstore’s website, the course catalog, etc.) for course materials delivered through affordable access programs. This information, in addition to the process for opting out and the timeline, is shared before the charges are posted to student accounts.
FACT:
Under the U.S. Department of Education regulations for affordable access programs like Inclusive and Equitable Access, institutions and their affiliated bookstores are required to ensure course materials are made available “below competitive market rates.” The discounts to students are significant, with citing reductions in price of 50-80% for participating students ( for more examples).
In some limited cases, students can find their course materials (print or eBooks only) available at the same price or lower on the open market, but these solutions do not meet the institution’s affordability needs at scale or the required length of access. This is why institutions offer all students the ability to opt out of their affordable access program if they decide they want to purchase their course materials in a different manner or not at all.
FACT:
Open Education Resources (OER) that are free or low-cost can be limited in scope. Many are simply written content delivered via a flat PDF file on a website, which may or may not be accessible and developed with student data privacy and security standards in mind. Most do not include robust learning exercises with animations, videos, and/or software simulations that engage students and prepare them for their field of study, which requires a lot of investment to create.
Additionally, OER typically does not include instructor support materials such as protected assessments or presentation files. OER is not currently available for all subject areas as high-quality content is very time-consuming and expensive to properly curate for educational purposes, as well as to keep up to date. While many are free or low-cost for students, they require investments for development and upkeep from institutions. For course material providers, high-quality materials include investments in pedagogy, developed by subject matter experts, a rigorous editorial process, and backed by support for students and faculty.
FACT:
Affordable access programs are designed to be flexible and can include any of the course materials faculty would typically select to require for their students, whether the materials were delivered through one of these programs or not. Additionally, with Inclusive Access programs, faculty decide if they want their course to be part of the program or not, and the program can be implemented on a section, course, or department level.Ěý
FACT:
Institutions do not charge students for internet/broadband access as part of the course material fee in affordable access programs. Large, institutional technology purchases made by colleges are passed onto students via part of tuition or designated technology-specific fees separate from these programs.