The Assessment Lab is studying how students manage access to the course materials (textbooks, etc.) that faculty expect them to buy for a course. How often do they buy the materials? Or do they rent, share, or borrow them, find “contraband” versions online, or skip them altogether? When they do buy them, do they feel their purchases were worth it?
We are also interested in how faculty decide what course materials to require of students. How often do they consider the cost of these materials? How often do they update their choices? What do they tell students about alternative ways to access these materials? What do they know how about students are accessing these materials?
For this project, we are conducting focus groups with both students and faculty.
