Get Books at a Discount Soon!
The cost of books right now is way too high for us students at OSU and this won’t change unless some action is taken. For the typical college course, there is a required textbook in the syllabus for purchase and it isn’t feasible to change this trend any time soon. That is why we have proposed the creation of a student-led organization with the goal of providing students like you with textbooks at lower costs.
The program, which we’ve called ‘Books for Buckeyes’, has the main purpose of purchasing textbooks in bulk prior to a semester and distributing them to as many students as possible. These books are given out as rentals at prices much below the cost of their purchase and returned at the end of the semester. Practicality is one of our concerns and so most of what you need to get enrolled in the program can be found on the online portal which will be active shortly. Also, if you or your friends check your email in the next few weeks, you will find a survey from us. Those of you who fit the specific requirements of the program will be identified and enrolled to receive one or more textbooks on a case-by-case basis.
We are confident in success of our program since there is adequate precedent for this mode of book subsidizing at universities around the United States. In an attempt to show a correlation between textbook ownership and grade-point-average, the University of Georgia recorded the academic results of providing free resources to half of their students with their new OER program (Paterson, 2018). Compared to those who hadn’t received free books, the participants of their program saw a 12% increase in the number of ‘A’ grades and their dropout rate decreased by 3%. It should be noted that this program, operating since 2013, has saved Georgia students more than $3.2 million in resources.
While the OER program at the University of Georgia gave textbooks to its students for free, Books for Buckeyes does not have the budget to do so at such a massive scale. But by mirroring OER and making it easier for someone to gain access to their required materials, it is expected that you guys will see an increase in their course performance.
Do You Need a Tutor?
The procurement of student textbooks is not the only method by which grades can be improved. In a study conducted by TES Therapy at San Bernardino Valley College, students had consistently scored approximately 12% higher on their exams when enrolled in tutoring programs (TES Therapy, 2022). A similar study at Union Adventist University measured the success of students aided by tutors very familiar with their more difficult course content and saw the following results: “Since starting the embedded tutoring program in Fall 2018, some courses improved pass rates by more than 15 percent” (Union Adventist University, 2020). The correlation between tutoring and grade increase is self-evident and this knowledge must be utilized.
In addition to making books cheaper, Books for Buckeyes aims to provide tutoring services for specific majors at the university. It is the intention of the program to help students irrespective of major or course type, but these tutoring sessions will be limited solely to those in the Books for Buckeyes Program. Tutoring opportunities will be available by appointment through the online portal and sessions will be conducted by the preference of both active parties.
If students are not flexible in their schedules or cannot make it to the Columbus campus, Zoom links will be provided next to the name of each tutor within our portal. For those in or near the city of Columbus, an additional meeting option will be in-person. There is currently no designated office space for students employed in the Books for Buckeyes program so this means that tutoring locations are constrained by campus facility availability. If the university libraries are able and willing to support the needs of the program, current room scheduling techniques could be used to ensure a private space for tutoring. With this assumption, these meeting rooms can be reserved at Thompson, 18th Avenue, and FAES library through their respective websites.
The justification and undeniable proof of the success of this program, however, is the simple fact that every dollar spent by the program is a dollar saved by a young student. Even with a chance that no academic advantage is given to that student, it is still a fact that large amounts of money will be saved through the elimination of a purchase required by the university every single semester.
Do You Want to be Part of the Solution?
If you are a current student interested in helping us achieve our goals, consider applying to be a tutor! When the online portal becomes active, you can fill out an application thatgives you an opportunity to tell us more about yourself. What classes are you most interested in? What skills do you excel at? If you want to know more about the benefits and obligations of a tutor in our program, please contact one of us by going to our ‘About Us’ page!