NOVA All Access: The Path Ahead

Over the past month, through the campus listening sessions, engagements with individual faculty members and discussions with campus forums, faculty have requested more input into the process of how course materials and supplies are provided to students through the NOVA All Access program. While much of the discussion’s focus has been on three main issues (opt-out, OER/no-cost materials and communication with students), the broader set of issues that drive those decisions needs to be addressed.

We are contractually obligated to Barnes & Noble College (BNC) for two-and-a-half more years; however, our ability to pivot to a new vendor, either on our own or as part of the VCCS, depends upon us collectively answering several key questions. As such, I have asked the Chief Academic Officer, the College Senate and Student Affairs to take the next six to eight months to examine the questions below and provide us with input by May 2025. This feedback is crucial because, if we are, in the future, going to change how we provide course materials to our students, then we, collectively, need to agree upon how we want to structure student access to course materials and supplies.

Why Is the Bookstore Model Changing?
Many people have mentioned their belief that BNC is making extraordinary profits. The truth is just the opposite. The business of supplying course materials to college students is extraordinarily unprofitable and undergoing a vast transformation. BNC is a public company, so its financials are readily available. BNC lost $62M last year and had to borrow $400M while it transitions customers to the First Day/All Access program and away from underperforming bookstores (Sept. 10, 2024 BNC news release).

The other 22 VCCS schools are also in transition with their bookstores, grappling with similar issues as NOVA. The VCCS has three contracted providers: BNC, Follett and VitalSource/Akademos.

The bottom line is the past model of providing books and supplies a-la-carte is broken and the industry (bookstores and publishers) and higher education are moving to various subscription-type models. A recent article highlighted the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs and its version with VitalSource/Akademos.

What Guided NOVA to BNC All Access (First Day)?
We chose the BNC All Access (First Day) program based upon the following tenets:

• Academic Freedom: Faculty could pick any course materials (physical, digital or self-produced) they wanted.
• Integration with Financial Aid: Students who receive financial aid would get their materials without paying up front.
• Elimination of Hidden Fees: Book costs varied, not just among courses, but among classes within the same course; students did not have this information before they signed up and were often taken by surprise.
• Course Materials on First Day of Class: We wanted a program that puts course materials in the hands of students at the start of class to improve academic outcomes.

What are the Eight Questions To Be Answered?
As we look at different options, we need to fully understand the interaction of the different services provided by the course materials provider and which are more or less important. Our answers to these questions will inform us of our options on whether or not to pivot away from All Access to a different model or provider. Through the Chief Academic Officer, College Senate and Office of Student Affairs, we will get input from our academic leadership, faculty and students. As these groups delve into these questions, other issues may surface and they should feel free to provide all relevant information in their reports.

Question # 1: Is NOVA Willing to Not Allow Physical Textbooks?
Going to a digital-only model dramatically reduces friction and cost and may allow other vendors to provide this service. Some schools have gone digital-only. Currently, NOVA uses about 42% physical materials. 

Question # 2: Does NOVA want to Retain the Academic Freedom of Individual Faculty Picking Their Own Class Materials for a Given Course?
Some schools have mandated that, within a given course, all faculty must use the same materials. This makes it easier for students and bookstore providers, thus reducing costs. Students may also believe that using the same materials across a course, regardless of who teaches the class, would provide them with the ability to study together and eliminate the cost disparity among classes within a course.

Question # 3: Does NOVA want to Retain On-Campus Bookstores?
Some providers are online-only. In those cases, course supplies, such as lab coats, etc., are bought online and students must pay shipping costs. Additionally, students who are experiencing homelessness wouldn’t have an address for books and supplies to be shipped. Some schools run their own campus stores; for NOVA, that would require six individual stores to break even, which might be difficult.

Question # 4: Does NOVA Want a Pay-One-Price Model?
Under NOVA All Access, students pay the same price for course materials, regardless of their program of instruction. Students of limited financial means do not need to select their course of instruction based upon course materials cost. This provides equitable upward mobility and does not separate students into less-expensive and more-expensive courses based upon ability to pay, similar to the VCCS tuition model.

The old model of students deciding what books to buy is essentially an opt-in model where students did not know the cost of their materials until after they registered for the class. Some might call that a “hidden fee.”  All Access provides the cost up front and the cost does not change.

Question # 5: Does NOVA want to Retain the Ability for Students Receiving Financial Aid to Not Pay Upfront for Materials?
Some have suggested a “direct-to-publisher” model; however, most publishers do not provide the material to students receiving financial aid for free and then wait for reimbursement from the College. This ability, in essence, to have the vendor “lend” the money at zero interest to provide the course materials is only available through certain providers.

Question # 6: Does NOVA want to Cede These Decisions to the VCCS?
NOVA enrollment (as well as all of VCCS) is down from 2010, and thus, our ability to have leverage in negotiations for this service is dramatically reduced. If NOVA joined the VCCS in a provider contract, the system would have greater leverage in negotiations and therefore, the potential for lower book and supply costs for students. However, it would mean NOVA would have to comply if the VCCS chose a digital-only option, common course materials or even a no-physical-bookstore model.

Question # 7: Does NOVA want to Commit to an Expanded OER Program to Drive Down the Overall Cost of Course Materials?
Some colleges across the United States have a much larger percentage of courses with OER materials, with an emphasis on high-material cost programs. President Kress has asked NOVA to move toward a 30% OER model. We need to understand our willingness and an acceptable timeline to get to 30%. A plan, with a timeline, would be helpful in crafting future options.

Question # 8: Does NOVA Have Ideas on How to Better Communicate with Students and Faculty About the Program We Currently Have?
While NOVA and BNC have sent students emails, put up posters, placed articles in the Nighthawk News and Daily Flyer, sent messages through Navigate and provided messaging for course syllabi, some students are not aware of the program or, even after selecting to pick up their materials, have not picked them up. Clearly, more can be done to reach students, and any thoughts and discussion on how to do this would be productive, including the faculty’s role in discussing NOVA All Access with their students.

What is the Timeline and Path Ahead?
Again, I have asked the Chief Academic Officer, the College Senate and Student Affairs to provide input by May 2025. We will then reconcile this input over the summer and publish it in August 2025. Since the input is coming from three distinct groups, we will then take the fall of 2025 to see where there is common ground, followed by market research. We may find there are no providers willing to provide NOVA with the exact type of program we want. From there, we will need to enter the formal procurement process (which will take another six-to-twelve months) to seek a potential new vendor and/or plan.

Submitted by:
John Ferrari, VP of Finance and Administrative Services, JFerrari@nvcc.edu