WESTCHESTER, IL, Jun 12, 2019 – While learning can be hard work, getting the right course materials before the first day of class shouldn't be. That is why Follett Higher Education Group, the largest campus retailer and eCommerce leader in North America, announced today that it has launched Follett ACCESS, an enhanced all-campus version of its popular includED program.
Follett was first to market in 2012, launching group participation of course materials purchasing, which focused on the course and section levels. The program has experienced significant growth and is now active on over 20 percent of Follett's campuses, continuing to drive retention and student success.
Follett ACCESS is an evolution of delivering over seven years of affordability programs for campuses. The powerful new program delivers all required print and digital course materials to all enrolled students at a campus as part of their tuition, or course charges, on the first day of class—resulting in lower costs, reduced stress, and greater student preparedness.
By serving over 1,200 campuses in North America, Follett is experiencing demand shift from a course-by-course solution, to a broader full campus participation with Follett ACCESS.
"We're disruptors of the traditional course materials model—and for good reason. Historically, over 50 percent of America's students are not graduating, and despite the intense industry focus on textbook affordability programs, course materials grants, and open educational resources (OER), the completion rates are not improving. Follett sits at the center of solving the root cause of this problem," said Roe McFarlane, Chief Digital Product & Marketing Officer at Follett Higher Education Group.
Follett is both a leader and disruptor in pushing the boundaries of course materials affordability and availability, by providing faculty with complete academic freedom, and students with reduced costs and the ease of mind of being prepared for their first day of class. Campus administrators are also taking interest in alternative delivery models as they drive retention, increased enrollment, and improved grades.
"We're taking the successes of our existing includED program to the next level by providing a full campus model to solve longstanding completion and retention challenges," said Jenn Hatton, SVP of Operations & Course Materials Strategy. "Students from kindergarten to 12th grade receive their materials to be successful in school. We simply provide the environment and expertise so that this model may continue seamlessly into higher education, removing barriers for students and improving learning outcomes."
"Both our primary and secondary research data clearly illustrates that there is a direct correlation between student completion rates and having all required course materials during the academic journey," said McFarlane. "The Follett ACCESS Program is not only about affordability, accessibility, and success—it's about changing lives."
Follett ACCESS Key Benefits
- Students: Improves performance and decreases stress by having all their course material needs on the first day of class.
- Faculty: Ability to choose from hundreds of thousands of titles from more than 6,000 publishers that meet their specific needs.
- Institutions: Increases recruitment, retention and graduation rates.
About Follett Corporation
Follett Corporation is the world's largest single source of educational materials, digital content, eCommerce, and multi-media for libraries, schools and institutions. Headquartered in Westchester, Illinois, Follett provides education technology, services and physical and digital content to millions of students at 70,000 schools, and more than 2,700 physical locations, and campus eCommerce platforms in North America. Through Baker & Taylor, Follett's reach also extends to the public library markets.