Keystone College has introduced a new program that guarantees all of its students will have access to the textbooks they need to obtain their college degree.
The college has entered into a partnership agreement with Follett Corporation, operators of the Keystone Bookstore, to begin the implementation of Follett’s IncludED program.
The new program, which begins in the fall 2015 semester, incorporates the cost of texts as part of the overall Keystone tuition, eliminating the difficulty many college students face in being able to afford the textbooks they need for class after paying for tuition, room and board.
Studies show that 40 percent of students nationwide often attend class without the necessary texts and nearly 20 percent skip or drop a class because they cannot afford the $1,200-$1,800 average cost per year to buy the required course material.
By incorporating the cost of texts as part of tuition, Keystone students will have access to all of the texts they need – whether offered in electronic or traditional hard-copy format. As an added benefit, students will be given a free tablet to access required online texts.
“The goal of IncludED is very simple and direct,” said Keystone College President David L. Coppola, Ph.D. “Too often, college students are attending class without the necessary materials they need. This often makes it difficult for them to be as successful as they would otherwise be if they had access to those materials. This program provides up-front transparency for the total cost of college, so students are no longer surprised by the cost of their textbooks during the first week of class. IncludED has been successful at other institutions and we felt it was time to implement it here at Keystone.”
