By Jameika Lawson
Staff Writer
Due to a rise in tuition, Cal State East Bay is implementing new strategies in order to dramatically cut costs for students starting this fall.
“Our intent is to keep costs as low as possible for our students,” said Christopher Brown, Associate Vice President of Enterprise Operations. “We sat down and met to formulate a plan that would be beneficial for students.”
One of the key components of the new Textbook Affordability Strategy is the use of Rent-a-Text.
“The ability of book rentals will bring down book costs,” said Brown.
Textbooks will be rented at a rate of 45-65 percent of the original selling price.
“I believe that the Rent-a-Text program is going to be very rewarding for students,” said sophomore Melanie Sutrathada. “My first quarter here was devastating to me, when I left out of the bookstore I had spent well over $400.”
Instead of purchasing textbooks, students will have the option of renting.
“Not all textbooks will qualify for rental,” said Brown. “Some will only be for sale, especially those that will not be used for the following year.”
Rent-a-Text is an alternative for students that are not interested in keeping their textbooks.
“Students will be able to use the textbooks the same as if they were to purchase them,” said Brown. “Highlighting the text is perfectly fine.”
Students that use the services provided through Rent-a-Text will be charged the current selling price, plus the difference of the rental fee if textbooks are not returned at the designated time.
According to the university’s Textbook Affordability Strategies plan and Follett Higher Education Group, California State University, Northridge saved students a total of $98,400 in basic math book rentals.
“Yes, this will create more work for the bookstore staff, but it’s important for us to bring down costs for our students,” said Brown.
Instead of buying, students can simply rent a textbook at half the original selling price.
“To avoid spending too much money I have found other ways to get books for my classes,” said Sutrathada. “I know many students that do not purchase books for class because of the University Bookstore prices.
“I was not able to buy any of my readers from other bookstores or offline, I had to buy them from the university bookstore, and most are not less than $50. Hopefully, the bookstore will make more money through the use of book rentals.”
