Wolfpack Outfitters has partnered with more than 10 publishers to transform their course materials into All-In Digital Access content. Instructors who use the All-In platform are able to provide students with ebooks and other course materials on the first day of class through Moodle at a significantly lower cost than traditional textbooks.
Almost 12,000 NC State students enrolled in the Fall 2019 semester are taking advantage of All-In digital course content this semester, saving them a combined total of almost $1.3 million. This is triple the savings experienced at the same time last year.
According to Chris Walsh, textbook manager for the store, the process starts with the instructor. “When choosing their course materials, instructors are provided with a checkbox asking if they are interested in Wolfpack Outfitters’ All-In program,” he explained. “If they check yes, Wolfpack Outfitters will check to see if the course is capable of being turned into an All-In course and the price of doing so. From there we collaborate with the instructor to make sure the online course material is properly installed on their Moodle course page.”
Students enrolled in All-In courses have access to a two-week free trial, starting on the first day of class and continuing to the census date. Students can opt-in to purchase access to the materials through the rest of the semester; if they don’t by the census date, the materials will be removed from their Moodle page and students will need to procure their materials another way, i.e. traditional textbook purchase/rental or ebook.
At the very least, a student saves about 14.8%, but savings can also be as high as 89.7%. On average, a student will save $109 per title compared to alternative forms of course material.
Not only are students saving money, but they are helping the environment. “All-In students prevented 5.5 million pages from being printed and more than 11 tons from going into backpacks,” said Walsh.
All-In is appealing to both students and instructors. Students can save money while helping the environment and instructors can use the same material they have always used in the past, now in a convenient, digital form. Professors also can monitor who is participating, reading the content, how they’re scoring on quizzes, and navigate pain points to increase student performance.
“If students are also looking to help the environment, choosing to opt-in to electronic course materials for spring is a great choice,” Walsh said. “It’s a win for their pocketbook and the earth.”