A couple of months ago a 2019 Good e-Reader published a report from Student Monitor showed campusa decline of 29 percent in student spending on learning materials over the past five years. The Student Monitor findings are the result of comprehensive, one-on-one, on-campus interviews with four-year, full-time undergraduates attending 93 colleges and universities.
Average student spending on college textbooks and course materials continued to decline during the fall semester of 2019, dropping 23 percent compared to the same term last year, according to the latest data from independent research firm Student Monitor. According to Student Monitor, the average student spent $205 to buy or rent course materials during the fall term, down from $265 for the 2018 fall term.
During the fall 2019 semester Student Monitor found that spending on course materials was distributed over a wide range of options. Out of the $205 in average student spending during the semester the organization found that an average of $87 was spent on new, print textbooks; $42 on used, print textbooks; $39 on rented, print textbooks; $19 on eTextbooks with unlimited use; $12 on eTextbooks with limited-time use; and $6 on online homework solutions. Each of these categories saw a decline in average spending compared to the 2018 fall term.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.