2023 Illinois Course Materials Survey: NIU Student Perspective

"It's put more stress on me financially since most of my disposable income I made and had in my savings during the summer was spent on textbooks."

"I need to save up a lot more and be able to work enough hours during the summer/winter to be able to afford my textbooks and rent."

"It has made me have less money."

"The cost of textbooks have been getting increasingly more expensive throughout my college experience. It has affected how I choose to register for classes to ensure I have enough money for each term. I even try to get used but it is not always available and it sometimes leaves me in a tough situation when I can't buy used or an affordable new book. It makes me stressed about how I will afford everything I need instead of focusing on the courses like I should be doing instead of the prices of the books necessary."

"Without financial aid I would not be able to have the classes I have."

"Textbooks cost money. College students don't have money."

"I've had to budget for specific courses to be able to take them at a certain time."

"You can't take the class and pass it without purchasing the textbooks. Especially if it requires the online systems. If you do not purchase it why bother taking the class. It's a big stress to have to see the prices and pay for it when you only have access to the textbook for one semester. Why not forever since it is purchases."

"I had to drop one class because. I couldn't afford textbooks, and another I'm doing poorly in because I fell behind due to the assignments basically being pay walled."

"I have less money to save for career development programs and spend on food."

"It impacts me in the sense that these materials are required, and we still have to pay for them, even though tuition is high."

"Hard to pay for everything."

"It had help from the school to get some of the things, but other things were brought later in the year because of the fact I did not have much and still do not have much money."

"Having several classes with access codes have stress me financially. There were times I thought I would be able to spend my refund to help me afford rent but because there were so many materials I needed to buy for my classes I had no money left. I try to use free trials but I am already someone who is below the poverty line."

"They just make it hard to afford books causing me to drop."

"I've struggled to keep up in class because I can't afford books."

"They haven't impacted me too much, although the courses that have required me to spend money on a textbook definitely changed the way I had to budget my money for food or supplies because I was missing that 50-100 or more dollars."

"I have had to pull money from savings to pay for course materials."

"It's just a huge inconvenience because it's $100-300 that could be used for food, gas, miscellaneous repairs, and etc."

"Made me pick up more shifts at work."

"They have forced me to decide between purchasing overpriced software or purchasing my next several meals."

"Financially, a lot, I would say it's pretty ridiculous with how textbook costs have come a long way in my academic learning, it would be much appreciated if textbook costs were at a low because many students aren't able to afford the cost of it."

"Poor grades because I couldn't afford it, skipping groceries, eating less, no social/spending money."

"I became broke. On top of going to a school that charges me for EVERY little thing. Then they tried to give me a separate "loan" to buy books. Like HELLO? No one is made of money - why am I buying a $300 textbook that I only opened ONCE this semester. From a teacher that don't even care."

"It has taught me to save money before the semester starts. I know now that I will need a minimum of $400 for books alone."

"Not being able to have the material ready feel worried and anxious that he not gonna pass."

"My school gives us money for books, but that amount is later charged to our financial aid. This semester I have to pay for all of my books out of pocket since I do not have enough money to cover my tuition fully. It has impacted me a lot because I have to pay my tuition with money I don't have. I cannot work because there are not many job opportunities where my school is located and I am a full-time student. I have been struggling to find ways to pay my tuition. Eventually, I might have to stop going to school because I will owe the school too much money. I do not wanna stop going to school."

"It has created a financial burden for me."

"They impact me financially. It is a financial risk for me."

"It impacted me a lot even though we get a balance of $700 but it still goes on our student account balance."

"Course materials are way too much for charge to use only for 16 weeks. A lot of courses that are required or mandatory are useless for most programs and spending more money on expensive course material is also unnecessary especially when college students pay hand and foot for the courses anyway. I think course materials should be given when you take the course(s)."

"I have been forced to skip meals in place of buying books because I felt they were necessary, but many cases this was untrue."

"It causes stress in participating in a classroom because the cost of the materials is excessive. Sometimes it is a conjoined purchase of an access code and textbook and the textbook is unused which is a waste of money and paper."

"Just one course required five books and a $30-50 subscription. I barely can afford to eat, let alone spend all I have on school books. It is like choosing to live or getting an education. Plus, tuition is already high enough at this school as it is for someone like me who has no one else to pay her student bills and other bills, but the government can't give aid to."

"A lot. I emptied out my savings this semester. It is difficult to be expected to always have access to a working laptop in every course."

"I take fewer classes to try and limit my spending on textbooks."

"Since I didn't get financial aid, it all comes out of my pocket. This semester I didn't spend too much on textbooks but my fall term in 2022 I spent over $200 on books alone for my courses. I was able to pay for it in the end, but I learned not to buy as many textbooks unless I absolutely need it."

"There were a few courses that I knew I would need to buy materials for and so I decided not to take those courses. Also if I had known that I would need to buy a book for one of the courses I ended up taking, I probably would not have taken that course."

"It has caused me to take fewer classes and seek out other ways to make payment so that I can take the required courses."

"I had to drop one class because I couldn't afford textbooks, and another I'm doing poorly in because I fell behind due to the assignments basically being pay walled."

"I've struggled to keep up in class because I can't afford books."

"Poor grades because I couldn't afford it, skipping groceries, eating less, no social/spending money."

"Not being able to have the material ready feel worried and anxious that he not gonna pass."

"I didn't know that financial aid was paying for my course materials when I got here so I never bought any books or access codes. So I earned a poor grade."

"After buying them I realized I didn't need the book to begin with."

"I have received a huge issue with my finances through having to purchase books."

"The cost of textbooks tends to be high, yet the textbooks then are hardly used. It is frustrating when a course has required materials that we never open. It is a waste of money."

"I have been forced to skip meals in place of buying books because I felt they were necessary, but many cases this was untrue."

"One teacher didn't include the weekly $20 case studies we needed for assignments. I only could complete homework based on snippets of the articles I could find free online. I could not afford to pay $20 per week. Because it wasn't in the required materials for the course either, some of my classmates couldn't buy them because they weren't covered by financial aid."

"No impact, most professors use books as reference so they're not required, when I do need a textbook then it's easy to find a free online copy. In the case of access codes, the cost is high and required but usually only one or two classes in the semester require something like that."

"I always try looking for used textbooks or rent textbooks as this is cheaper, but now that I am in course-specific classes I am forced to buy the books. This is because I will need these books to study for future certifications and would rather have the textbooks for longer because I need them to study. They are also much more expensive compared to others I have gotten in the past."

"Not much, found other ways to get the books for cheap."

"I have been lucky enough to have a 529 account that I use"

"Stress free"

"I actually found the free resources more helpful and relevant to the course than other classes I've taken where I was required to purchase books for."

"I loved it because the professor themselves understand how expensive books are and they are being compassionate and understand with providing us with free materials that they are requiring us for their own course."

"Excellent"

"I was successful in the course and was able to start assignments immediately."

"It worked just fine."

"Excellent"

"Great"

"I really enjoyed them and they were easily accessible."

"I've really appreciated professors that have used materials that were cost-free. Most of the time, these classes are electives outside of my major specific courses. They tend to be more discussion based and the professors are more open to discussion about the material."

"Amazing"

"It was wonderful. It made a world of difference in my financials at the beginning of the semester, where I was waiting for financial aid to kick in, but needed my books for classes. If just one or two more classes did not have free materials, I would have ran out of money for food in those beginning weeks of the semester. Also, I took nine classes this semester, but the maximum selectable in this survey is 7."

"It was incredible"

"Nice"

"It was all on Blackboard and it helped with having to study."

"I like the courses the textbook was provided for us. They were quality sources, but best of all they were free."

"It was great I did way better in those"

"They were extremely beneficial because I didn't have to spend extra money on something for the course and was then able to put that money towards groceries or supplies for class."

"Beautiful. All instructors should have all of their educational materials available online for no additional cost."

"I appreciated these free materials because often it was a variety of sources that instructors put together for no cost to us. Because of this we got to read a variety of opinions, perspectives, and writing styles."

"Better than classes that are restricted to one book. Using PDFs or website links, teachers are able to use so many more materials. Also, the access is way better. These PDFs and web links can always be accessed whereas many online textbooks are rentals."

"Amazing! I love that my professors do this. It's so accessible."

"Good"

"It was a great experience and I actually was able to do everything I needed to get a good grade."

"Good it made me happy that I didn't have to pay more."

"Great!"

"Nice since I didn't have to spend so much money on them."

"These materials have helped me continue my education."

"It felt so much easier and I was incredibly thankful. I'm more motivated to use the materials and do better in class when my professors make information more easily accessible."

"Amazing. We didn't have to worry about the servers being down during class or a quiz, or worry about breaking the bank. Or paying $100+ for a digital rental of a textbook."

"Free materials are usually much easier to use, and are still very similar to the regularly required texts."

"They were a God send, and allowed the course to start off even better."

"I appreciated the usage of free materials far more than the costly materials."

"Good experiences in all cases with free materials."

"Amazing. Low cost textbooks are a foundation of successful teaching."

"The resources were great and informative."

"They were given to us as PDFs from the treatment."

"It made the materials much easier to access."

"AMAZING!!!"

"Great loved that the professor choose free materials and everyone could access them."

"I was happy that I didn't have to pay for any books."

"It's very helpful as I can save money for other necessities."

"They worked great."

"It's easier to access and we're aware of what needs to be read for the assignment."

"Great! She actually provided a better, more unique and custom learning experience as a result!"

"It is great. I feel like it is fair."

"Amazing"

"The materials were great and from academic journals. They were also relevant to the content we learned."

"These free materials (through inclusive open access) were fairly easy to use. Some of the textbooks were interactive which helped me find assigned topics/chapters better as I could click on the required reading (instead of having to scroll through an entire PDF). I enjoyed these courses with open access as I could save money while still taking required courses for my major and minor(s)."

"Great"

"Great!"

"It was easy to access the free material."

"Great"

"They were great! Usually, it was resources they either had the school pay for, or that they have amassed from over the years. I have no complaints with them!"

"Amazing and preferable, especially when sampling from multiple books."

"It was perfect. There was no problem with the textbook we were provided."

"These free materials were very helpful when it comes to the cost of many of these textbooks."

"It was really enjoyable because we used the materials provided."

"It was great! It was actually really helpful for homework!"

"It made the class more attainable for everyone because no one had to worry about saving money to afford the materials."

"Wonderful. Took a huge amount of stress off."

"Great! No problems at all, and truly wish every course operated the same way."

"Almost always identical to paying for materials."

"I enjoyed it because it shows that it is possible to learn and gather materials for the class more accessible."

"It was the best class ever. I felt more at ease in the class and more focused on what they lectured in class. Being able to access them easily is the best thing instructors can do for us students."

"Fantastic. I really appreciated the professors who opted for this route as it showed that not only do they care about their course material, but they care about the cost they pass onto their students."

"Wonderful!"

"It was wonderful."

"My experience was very good. Either they were websites the professor or institution partnered with for free materials, or the professors sent us PDFs they had access to."

"Great"

"It was very beneficial to those who couldn't afford the textbook or didn't get it in general. With those classes I found myself passing the class more than those where I always have to reference the textbook we had to pay for."

"Easier to access and as well written as paid materials."

"They were good!"

"Amazing"

"Very nice, helped with saving money for tuition."

"Great"

"I prefer free materials."

"I don't recall having an issue with it although I can't recall too much."

"Sometimes not needed or used a few times for specific purposes."

"Overall pretty decent, though I don't have much to compare them to."

"Unfortunately I had already bought the book but the book was more helpful than the PDF she provided."

"Both physics and Calculus have free online textbooks and they are okay at best."

"Due to financial restrictions they were on the cheap end."