New U of U textbook program aims to save students money

SALT LAKE CITY — This fall, the University of Utah is rolling out a new textbook program that aims to cut the average cost of textbooks in half.

With the Day 1 Book Access Program, undergraduate students will only have to pay $259 per semester for all their textbooks.

Campus Store Senior Marketing Manager Bridget Miller said this new program would save students a lot of money and could improve their class performance.

“A lot of the time, students find frustration with having to price shop for textbooks and then they’re kind of a week behind as the semester is starting. So the whole premise of this program is that you pay $259 for the semester for all of your textbooks. And you get everything by the first day of class. So, you just have a head start right off the gate,” Miller said.

Campus Store Associate Director Shane Girton said a big factor in the change is that most students prefer digital books.

“Where our main focus is and what is shown in our surveys is students prefer digital over print. And digital is less expensive than print, so that’s really what’s driving us,” Girton said.

The textbook program will allow students to have access to all their class materials as soon as the semester starts.

Girton said the program will have different tiers that students could use depending on their course load during the semester.

Danny Rosas-Salas, a U of U student, said it would keep him on track during the semester because he won’t need to order his books online and wait for them to arrive in the mail.

Rosas-Salas also said this new program would save him time and money in the long run.

“With my personal experience, there are some semesters that I have to take six,  five courses, right? And I can spend a lot, it’s like each textbook costs like $80.”

The U of U textbook program will allow students to opt out if their classes don’t require textbooks.

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