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About the Initiative
Northwest is well known among its students, alumni and friends for two student-focused programs: the Textbook Rental Program and the Electronic Campus.
Since its founding in 1905, Northwest has rented textbooks to students
instead of requiring students to individually purchase textbooks from a
third-party vendor. Currently, students pay a $6 per credit hour fee for
access to primary textbooks – this program saves the average student
over $400 per semester. This program ensures that access to course
materials is not a concern for faculty or students. Textbooks are
refreshed every three years. As the Electronic Campus has evolved since
1987, today’s student at Northwest receives a notebook computer to use
while at Northwest. A $12 per credit hour fee supports the Electronic
Campus and keeps the hardware and software current. Northwest is unique
in that it is the only institution in the nation to offer both
money-saving programs to students.
Northwest first employed approximately 200 Sony Readers in various
classrooms to test the viability of eReading devices. When the eReaders
proved not to work as a platform for the delivery of eTextbooks,
Northwest then moved to deliver eTextbooks on notebook computers during
the spring 2009 semester. Five hundred students were formally involved
in this phase of the eTextbook study. The approach and viability of the
initiative were evaluated periodically as the initiative proceeds.
Overall, the results showed that there were still significant issues
with the present forms of eTextbooks. Since then, Northwest has
continued to delve into the functionality and feasibility (both
pedagogical and financial) of a more comprehensive move into the use of
eTextbooks.
