Textbooks have been a large factor in determining whether or not a student succeeds in college. According to the California Student Aid Commission 2021-2022 Student Expenses and Resources Survey, the average college student spends $938 on textbooks per academic year.
The current way to help with textbook costs is through the Book Advance Voucher.
Students who qualify for Pell Grant or Cal Grant can receive a voucher for up to $750. They also must meet the required GPA and be taking sufficient classes.
“Book Advance Voucher approvals are limited to one per semester as long as the student remains eligible for financial aid,” said Delta College Financial Aid Specialist Nidia Ambrizzarco. “Additional Book Advance Voucher requests are not allowed.”
If a student qualified for Pell Grant or Cal Grant at an earlier date but no longer does, the student will be required to pay back the amount of money they used to purchase the books.
Students are also able to use some online resources in lieu of buying a physical textbook.
The campus library, and Libretext both can provide some students with some books, though not all are available online.
A much larger statewide project that has not yet been implemented is the Zero-Textbook-Cost-Degree Grant (ZTC).
Managed by California Community Colleges, the program will give community colleges $20,000 to begin planning out their own ZTC program. The next phase, titled “ZTC Acceleration Grants” will have colleges that have already formed their ZTC program to apply for competitive grants.
“Applicants will provide details about their proposed ZTC program(s) and self-assessments of their institutions’ capacity to support that effort,” according to a memorandum from Vice Chancellor of Educational Services and Support Rebecca Ruan-O’ Shaughnessy.
The ZTC program taskforce is expected to give recommendations to the Chancellor’s Office by May 2023.
“If books were free for all students, this would be tremendously helpful for the students, especially the students who are not receiving financial aid,” said Ambrizzarco. “By providing free books for students this would have more student enrollment, a higher student retention rate, and a higher completion rate. Students will have more opportunities to complete their educational goals with less stress of how to navigate to pay for their books in addition to classes and other supplies.”