2010 florida student textbook survey findings susan (susie) henderson may 16, 2011
TRANSCRIPT
2010 FLORIDA STUDENT TEXTBOOK SURVEY FINDINGS
Susan (Susie) Henderson
May 16, 2011
LISTENING TO FLORIDA’S STUDENTS…AND LEARNING FROM THEM
Survey Purpose To learn how FL students:
Acquire and use textbooksPerceptions of increased cost of educational materialsTextbook preferences
Format Features
Effect of textbook costs upon students’ education, decisions, actions, and outcomes.
Data Collection/AnalysisStructured on-line survey (Survey Monkey)Sample non-random, voluntary participationMultiple-choice and open-ended questionsSept. 21, 2010 – March 21, 2011N = 14,220Analysis according to three categories:
University/College enrollment Part-time/Full-time Hours toward degree
0-60 hours 61-120 hours
Type of Institution Attended: Slightly more of college students
(54%) responded to the survey than did university students (46%).
Red=CollegesBlue=Universities
Hours toward degreeOver half of university respondents said they had earned between 61-120 hours, while 18.3% of the college students had earned 0-60 hours credit. 64.5% of college students said they were seeking associate’s degrees.
On average, how many textbooks per course did students report purchasing in fall, 2010? 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
Number of books purchased: 85.2% of university students and 94% of college students reported they had purchased between 1 and 7 books in Fall 2010 semester ~ 1.5 books per course.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
None 1 – 3 4 – 7 8 – 12 13 - 18 19 - 24 25 - 30 31 - 36 Rented Borrowed
Number of Textbooks Purchased by Type of Institution
University (N=5577)
College (N=6747)
(N=12359)
Textbook Costs for Fall, 2010 Semester
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Never
Occasionally
Frequently
Purchased Textbook Not Used in Class by Type of Institution
University (N=5548)
College (N=6697)
(N=12281)
What is the most used student strategy to reduce textbook costs?
Rent textbook Read library reserve copy Buy electronic textbook Buy used books Share books
Approximately 40% of both university and college students buy new/used books to reduce costs.
More college (21.4%) students said they bought used books from the campus bookstore, while more university students (12.3%) shared books with classmates.
it has caused me extreme difficulty in class because i choose to pay a bill rather than purchase a book so I struggle in certain classes since I have to share with other students.
Avoid classes that use high priced textbooks
Take fewer classes Not use a book at all Started a book exchange Take out a loan to afford books. Students have begun stealing
textbooks Sometimes I sacrifice eating for a
few days so I can afford the books needed.
I didn't fail a course but I have received bad grades because I didn't have the book.
Three of our roommates bought a single text book and …really hard to study during the exams. It has also affected our grades.
A cheap “print on demand” version would be nice. Love the idea for paying either $5 or $10 - still cheap to get the online access for book and print on own.
Buy book - copy it - return it Use older versions, Google books,
Wikipedia, dept. loaner copies,
Almost half (48.8%) of university and 46% of college students said they would be willing to pay $5 to $10 for every open textbook used in a course to maintain textbook currency and help fund their development.
Frequently/occasionally not register for the course – 28.4% college students 18.4% university students
Did not purchase their books: 46.7% of college students 55.5% of university students.
Only 10% of respondents identified electronic access as their way of accessing textbooks.
Close to 90% of students chose print versions of their textbooks.
Four top study aids to achieve good grades were identified by almost equal proportions of university and college students were (in order of magnitude):
Study Aids to Achieve Good Grades by Institution Type
Study Aids All Institutions University College
Percent Percent Percent
Practice Questions 24.3% 24.3% 24.2%
PowerPoint Slide Shows 16.5% 17.8% 15.4%
Interactive 'now try it' activities 12.6% 12.4% 12.8%
Videos 11.9% 11.1% 12.6%
Animations 7.8% 7.6% 8.0%
Collaborative activities 7.1% 7.8% 7.5%
Audio 7.0% 6.3% 6.5%
Online Discussions 5.7% 6.1% 5.6%
Online tutoring system provided by the college 5.1% 4.4% 5.4%
Podcasts 2.0% 2.0% 1.9%
‘Very important’ or ‘important’ text book formats were primarily commercially printed or downloadable to their computers.
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
Commercially Printed
Commercially Printed
With Companion Website
Read Online (internet access)
Self Print At My Own Cost
Download/read on
personal computer
Formatted For Cell Phone
Formatted for E-Reader
Importance of Textbook Formats
Not Important
Of little importance
Somewhat Important
Important
Very Important
(N=12149)
All depend on the subject or class i.e. for Chemistry I would want a printed book
I buy it - I own it for life! Disability means can ONLY
handle commercially printed book. Please keep that option!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am gradually moving towards electronic as I get used to it
all the electronic stuff is hard on the eyes i prefer printed text
Yes I have an iPad. It would be great to use it for all classes
NOT on a device that can crash! Drop your kindle, fail every course, waiting for a replacement.
I learn better with physical print I would happily purchase an
eReader if my textbooks were of a reasonable cost and available on the eReader.
I would need a format that can be accessed in places where there is no power or internet
What is the top feature that students want in a digital textbook? Incorporates multi-media Search within the textbook Time book is available Links to websites Highlighting
The top features for digital textbooks chosen by students were in descending order: search within the textbook, time book is available, printing and highlighting.
Over 2/3 of all respondents said they ‘never’ read E-Books.
Of the respondents who access electronic reading materials, the personal or public computer was the most frequently identified method.
Three-fifths of student respondents said they were interested in using electronic textbooks.
Three-fifths of student respondents said they would rent one or more of their required textbooks, if it saved them money.
Almost 70% of student respondents said they would or ‘maybe’ purchase electronic textbooks for some or all of their courses, if it would save them money.
Among the reasons given for lack of interest in digital textbooks, almost half of the students said they (1) like having a printed copy to write in, highlight, etc.,
(2) inconvenient to read,
(3) difficult to move to different pages/sections of a book.
THE FLORIDA 2010 STUDENT TEXTBOOK SURVEY REPORT AND REVISED SURVEY QUESTIONS
Will be available no later than July 1 in:
The Orange Grove Digital Repository www.theorangegrove.org
THANK YOUFOR JOINING US
Susie Henderson, Associate Executive Director
Florida Distance Learning Consortium
Tallahassee, Florida