RedShelf Blog Bye Bye, Bound Books? Part II

The title asks a question that many in higher education have been pondering since 2008. It was the year that President George W. Bush signed the reauthorization of the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA), a broadly-sweeping piece of legislation that touched everything from FAFSA to on-campus voter registration programs. Amongst its many parts, it directly addressed course materials, urging higher education to focus on the now-common topics of student affordability and access. Full of student wins, it was the first time federal legislation encouraged the availability of different course material format options, including digital delivery, to help combat rising education costs. Institutions were left to navigate new expectations on transparency, a new list of reporting requirements, and a new list of encouraged behaviors, in hopes of remaining in good-standing with what was likely a substantial source of their overall funding.