College Stores Receive $8.9 Million in Federal Grants to Fund Textbook Rentals

Innovative programs will significantly reduce costs for thousands of students

OBERLIN, Ohio, Nov. 9, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The awarding of nearly $9 million in federal grants to fund pilot textbook rental programs at 11 colleges and universities will improve textbook affordability and help establish best practices for such programs, thereby encouraging their implementation at more schools, according to the National Association of College Stores (NACS). This year's grantees join about a dozen other schools that were awarded similar grants last year.

"Textbook rental programs can be expensive to start," said Richard Hershman, director of government relations for the National Association of College Stores (NACS). "These grants will help overcome the financial barrier, enabling this second batch of college stores to experiment further with different rental models and independently evaluate and identify the most efficient methods. Other schools establishing or expanding the rental approach will then be able to scale up these best practices, leading to more effective rental programs."

Hershman added the Department of Education received 63 applications for the limited number of competitively awarded grants. The U.S. House of Representatives has allocated an additional $10 million for FY2011 to fund more grants.

Seven of the 12 federal grants were awarded to two-year institutions where textbook costs can represent a significant share of academic costs, while two grants went to four-year, public institutions, and two grants were awarded to private colleges.

An additional award went to the Alternative Media Access Center at Georgia Tech in Atlanta to make digital course materials more accessible for students with disabilities.

The schools picked for the grants are: Bellevue College, WA; Columbia College, Sonora, CA; Delaware Valley College of Science & Agriculture, Doylestown, PA; Florence-Darlington Technical College, Florence, SC; Illinois Central College, East Peoria, IL; Mt. San Antonio College, Walnut, CA; Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY; St. Johns River Community College, Palatka, FL; San Diego State University, CA; West Los Angeles College, Culver City, CA; Western Oregon University, Monmouth.

For a detailed listing of grant winners, their proposals, and amounts of the individual grants click here.

The textbook rental pilot grant program was authorized in the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 and funding by Congress in 2010. The provision was sponsored by Reps. Tim Ryan (D-OH) and Jason Altmire (D-PA) and Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY).

"Textbook rental can be an attractive option for students whose economic situation is such that price is the over-riding determinant of whether or not they will have a textbook," Hershman said. "Our members are committed to ensuring students have the academic tools they need to succeed."

About NACS

Headquartered in Oberlin, Ohio, the National Association of College Stores (NACS) is the professional trade association representing the collegiate retailing industry. NACS represents more than 3,000 member stores that serve America's college students while supporting the academic missions of higher education institutions. Additional information on the college store industry can be found online at www.nacs.org.

SOURCE National Association of College Stores