The Xplanation

(This is Part 1 in a series of posts related to a survey MBS Direct-Xplana conducted in partnership with Eduventures last October/November. This is part of a longitudinal study MBS began four years ago, and focuses on student rends related to textbooks, digital content, and online study tools. The survey was administered to 1000 students at two and four-year colleges and universities in the U.S. The demographics for this study are traditional students (ages 18-22) with an accurate representation of the female/male ratio in Higher Education (55%/45%).)

For me, one of the more interesting trends is around deferred textbook purchases by students. Deferred textbook purchases refer to students who wait to buy their books until after the semester has begun — deciding which books they really need to buy — and in general more students are waiting (and waiting longer than ever before) to buy their books. Here are some interesting takeaways from the survey.

• More than 1/3 of students responding to our survey deferred their textbook purchase. This has continued to increase from 27.8 percent in 2008 and 30.1 percent in 2009.
• 74% of the students surveyed indicated that the main reason they waited to buy a textbook was because they were uncertain about whether or not it would really be needed for the course.
• 40% said that they deferred making a textbook purchase because the price of the textbook(s) was too high.
• Students are content to wait longer to purchase their textbooks than in previous years, waiting as late as midterm exams to determine if the materials are absolutely necessary.

There is definitely a correlation in deferred textbook purchases and the percentage of a textbook that is being used actively in a course. If a textbook is used sparingly or only as a supplemental or ancillary information source, students will often find a substitutes on the Web or in the physical library.

Deferred purchases are also an important trend because the longer a student waits to buy a textbook, the greater the likelihood that he or she will find an alternative to making that purchase. Alternatives include sharing a book with classmates, copying key sections from a friend’s book, and simply going without.

Ultimately, deferred purchases are related to price and actual use. At current textbook pricing levels, we expect this trend to remain steady or rise slightly over the coming year.