Faculty Watch Report: Faculty Requiring Fewer Materials, More Cost-Aware

Contact: publicrelations@nacs.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OBERLIN, OHIO (February 9, 2023)—College faculty, on average, required fewer course materials during the 2021-22 academic year, according to the Faculty Watch™: 2022 Report, the National Association of College Stores’ (NACS) annual survey of college teaching faculty. Faculty only required 3.9 materials on average across the 3.9 courses they taught. This was the lowest number of materials required by faculty since Faculty Watch began tracking this measure in 2016. In 2021, faculty required 4.1 materials across 3.9 courses. In 2020, faculty required 6.0 materials on average across the same number of courses.

Faculty awareness of course material costs and what role faculty play in course material affordability at their institution remain mixed. Many faculty are interested in receiving more assistance and information from experts, including the campus store, on topics including affordability and alternative format options.

More than 64% of faculty reported knowing the cost of all their materials. There was greater awareness (67%) among those selecting their own course materials than situations where academic departments or institutions assigned materials. Yet, faculty still tend to overestimate the cost of course materials for students. In 2021, just 57% of faculty knew the cost of all materials. 

What if course materials cost students more than what a faculty member feels is reasonable? About 21% of faculty said they would be very or somewhat likely to adopt the materials anyway. More than half (60%) said they would be very unlikely or somewhat unlikely to continue with the adoption. Over a quarter of faculty (29%) said they would be very or somewhat likely to tell students a course material is not required, while 49% were very or somewhat unlikely to do so. Thirty-five percent indicated being very or somewhat likely to tell the college store a material was not required. 

After years of steady growth, preference for digital materials declined this year. Preference for print materials held steady, with gains for print textbooks with a digital component. This year, 22% of faculty preferred standalone print materials, similar to 2021.  Preference for standalone print has halved since 2016 but print preferences have levelled out for several years. There were few changes in format preference from 2021 across formats. E-books and digital books with other digital components lost ground, about 2-3% each. This follows a steady growth in this category for several years. Meanwhile, preference for print books with digital components increased by 3%. When combining all types of print and all types of digital into single categories, preference for print was 43% in 2022 and preference for digital was 26%. The latter is a drop of 5% from 2021.

Faculty Watch™ is developed by OnCampus Research™, the research arm of the National Association of College Stores. Other key findings from the report, which compiled responses from approximately 1,132 college faculty from 25 two- and four-year colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada, include:

• The college store remains the number one source for course materials that faculty recommend to students.
• The top three ways faculty felt they wanted more interaction from the college store were through email (36%), on-demand contact (31%), and information posted on the college store webpage (27%).
• Print remains the most widely used course material format by faculty. In 2022, 71% of faculty used print materials. This is an increase from 67% in 2021. Compared to 44% in 2021, intent to use access codes or adaptive learning platforms in the coming year was much lower in 2022 at 31%.
• This year, 37% of faculty had used open educational resources. This was in line with the 37% who used OER in 2021 and the 38% who used it in 2020, however it is significantly below  the number of faculty in 2021 who indicated they intended to use OER in the next twelve months. Awareness of OER is now nearly universal.
• About 30% of faculty did not require materials for at least one of their courses. This was down from 40% in 2020 and nearly half of faculty in 2021.

Members of the media interested in a copy of the report should email publicrelations@nacs.org.

About The National Association of College Stores: The National Association of College Stores (NACS) is the professional trade association representing the collegiate retailing industry. NACS represents campus retailers and industry-related companies that supply course materials and other merchandise and services to campus stores. NACS provides education and other resources that help its member stores support student success, the campus experience, and the missions of higher education institutions.