Students of Delta College were able to rejoice last semester with the addition of free textbooks if they were vaccinated. This, however, was short lived, and would only last one semester.
The “vaxxed for stacks” program offered free textbooks for students, “potentially saving them millions of dollars while encouraging them to be protected from COVID-19,” according to a release announcing the vaccine-related incentive in July 2021.
In October, Delta College announced the program would not continue into the Spring 2022 semester. This is a program that should be continued in some way and not be engulfed by a lack of sustainability, much like similar programs elsewhere.
Students, like myself, found the free textbooks to be extremely beneficial, and even though students were promised relief of all student loan/tuition debt this semester, some still miss the short lived luxury of free textbooks.
As a first-time college student, the “Vaxxed for Stacks” program was a godsend for someone as ill-prepared as myself, saving that money was the ultimate blessing considering how dubious and outrageous textbook prices can be.
Now, this semester, after saving nearly $400 on my textbooks last semester, the curtain was opened up to reveal the reality of this short-lived program to students, and how Delta College has followed suit with other colleges and universities.
Textbooks in the United States are big business. A 2021 report on Trends in College Pricing and Student Aid published by CollegeBoard, noted that students at “public two-year in-district commuter” colleges paid an average of $1,460 a year for “books and supplies.”
Even though the CollegeBoard report states that the “average student spending on college textbooks and digital course materials [has] declined by 36 percent,” these rates are still too high for many students.
Last semester, 5,023 students received referrals to receive free textbooks. With this amount of students, the total value of those textbooks that were not paid for ended up being near $949,000 reported by the Director of Marketing, Communications and Outreach Alex Brietler.
A reduction in those costs this past semester helped students, “Free textbooks helped me a good chunk, I thank my vaccine card for allowing me to get them for free,” student Anabel Moreno said. “This semester I had to pay 50 dollars just for one online textbook.”
Free books are only part of a trend in incentivizing vaccines for students, all of which may not be sustainable. NPR reported in August 2021 that Purdue University gave “golden tickets” to 10 students who submitted their proof of COVID-19 vaccination. The “ticket” was worth $9,992, which is the cost of in-state tuition at the school.
West Virginia University students were entered into raffles for “laptops, $250 gift certificates” and other “free zip-lining sessions on the school’s course,” according to NPR.
Closer to Delta College, Modesto Junior College offered up to $500 for fully vaccinated students enrolled in “6 units or more,” according to the school’s website. The money was split between credit at their college bookstore and a cash award.
The examples provided from other institutions come as part of this trend: seemingly meaningful incentives that provide students temporary benefit on the surface, but come with nothing beneath that surface to keep the aid sustainable.
As far as textbooks are concerned, there needs to be more cost effective ways to help ALL of our students at Delta College. There are programs like the Extended Opportunity Program Services (EOPS) on campus that offer assistance in the form of “textbook vouchers” (for students enrolled in 12 or more units), but this isn’t applicable to every student.
The ultimate goal of colleges and universities is to help students who want to learn and succeed later in life. More possibilities at different kinds of vouchers and more accessible programs would be beneficial. Hell, even doing away with textbooks altogether would help reassure students to a certain degree.
Reassurement that students don’t have to worry about which class or course they can or can’t take because the textbook costs too much. Reassurement that the only worries students should have at Delta College is their academics, but at the same time guiding and preparing them for when the time comes to pay for more. Reassurement doesn’t come from unsustainable traps labeled as “luxury.”