CHLOE KOWALYK
Editor in Chief
There are pros and cons to every change — a fact that has been exemplified by SUNY Fredonia’s switch to new textbook provider Akademos this academic year.
Akademos is, according to their website, “a technology-focused platform that supports prioritizing textbook affordability through all models including Student Choice, Inclusive Access (IA), Equitable Access (EA) or a combination.”
Other universities, such as Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), have also made the switch to Akademos.
Darin Schulz, the executive director of the Faculty Student Association (FSA), and Chris Zenns, FSA’s director of retail operations, provided information about the change.
Schulz said that the University Bookstore’s previous provider went out of business last year, which prompted the utilization of Akademos.
Akademos was ultimately decided as the new choice for SUNY Fredonia’s textbook provider after research into different providers and conversations with other colleges in the SUNY system.
“They are now acting as the intermediary and our supplier for textbooks,” Schulz said.
A unique feature about Akademos is how it leads students to a marketplace of sellers of textbooks that they can choose from.
“When you go to the marketplace, that [could be] an individual seller,” Schulz said. “Their software scrolls the internet through Amazon, through every retail reseller site, and says, ‘okay, yes, we have this edition [and] this ISBN available.’”
Schulz and Zenns said that the prices through the online marketplace are typically cheap, enabling students to choose the best deal and save money.
However, going through independent sellers may have problems.
“We’ve had a couple instances where students can’t get the books…there’s been a couple, not a significant amount, but a few and they were all in the marketplace,” Schulz said.
Schulz also said that he believes there are disclaimers on the website that warn students that the sellers through the Akademos marketplace are independent.
Izzie Inzinna, a sophomore double majoring in journalism and psychology, had a tricky experience with the new textbook provider.
She purchased a textbook for one of her journalism classes through the online bookstore. However, Inzinna never got the textbook in the mail.
“I was waiting for my book to come in and around the date it was supposed to get here, I got an email … and it was the bookstore saying that they canceled my order,” she said.
Inzinna added that there was no explanation as to why the order was canceled, and is hoping to get a refund. She is still missing both the book and the money she spent on it.
Other students have reported similar issues.
According to Schulz and Zenns, this issue, and ones like it, are not under FSA’s control.
Presumably, Inzinna was exposed to a bad seller through Akademos’ marketplace.
Schulz’s belief is that there is “more exposure to the marketplace than before,” which may be why some students are having issues getting books.
While FSA themselves cannot control the shipping of independent sellers, they do hope to help students with the process however they can.
“So the good side is there’s more opportunity for lower cost textbooks; the bad [side is that] we can’t control the shipping,” Schulz said.
The other major issue students and faculty seem to be facing is using third party programs, such as Cengage and Perusall, and getting access codes through the bookstore.
Dr. Jonathan Chausovsky, an associate professor in the Department of Politics and International Affairs, uses a third-party software as the main focus of his assignments.
Chausovsky uses Perusall, a textbook annotation software that allows students to make comments and ask questions on textbook readings while being able to respond to their classmates’ comments and questions.
Typically, students buy their textbook right through Perusall and it enrolls them in the section of the class they are in, and lists upcoming assignments automatically.
Chausovsky has been using Persuall for the past four years, and has typically had students get access codes through the bookstore.
However, this year, with Akademos, Chausovsky’s students have been unable to use their financial aid to purchase the textbook.
To try to fix the issue, Chausovsky has a 40-email-long chain of attempts with Akademos, Perusall and the University Bookstore to get his students the access codes they need. He’s had several instances of what he thought was success, but some of his students still cannot access their book.
Contacting Akademos has been particularly difficult for Chausovsky.
“The phone number is pretty much useless because it goes directly to a box that says, ‘nobody’s available to take your call…please leave a message,’” he said. “I have not heard a response from it yet. I’ve put like two or three calls in it…Clearly nothing is ever going to happen after this.”
Chausovsky believes that Perusall is a common program used by other professors in similar disciplines.
“Pretty much all the major textbook companies and publishers use them and make their works available. So we’re talking Princeton University Press, Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press,” he said.
Still, Chausovsky’s attempts to reach Akademos have been unsuccessful. He has been able to get into contact with Perusall, with whom there have been no issues.
Rather, the issue lies within getting the access code through Akademos itself.
“If [Perusall] was a third-party seller of books…then [students] would not be able to access their financial aid because it’s not purchased through Akademos,” Zenns said. “That’s a negative of not using Akademos is the [the inability to access] financial aid.”
Zenns added that more and more students are using e-materials that are purchased through Akademos, which they can get an access code for. Students can use financial aid for this because Akademos accepts SUNY Fredonia’s aid.
The issue with using financial aid with third-party programs like Perusall is that they might not accept Fredonia’s financial aid and the bookstore no longer facilitates purchases of books.
Schulz provided advice for students navigating Akademos for the first time.
“I think the biggest thing is just getting online as soon as you can,” he said. “Because first and foremost, the earlier you do make a decision to register for a particular section of a class…if they do have that option, then [the earlier] you know what books are there and there’s more opportunity to get used textbooks for less.”
The only issue with this plan is that the rental period for textbooks starts when you purchase the book. So, if a student drops a class or needs to return the book, they may not be able to do so after a certain period of time.
Thus, if a student is confident they need a book for a certain class, they should purchase it early for a cheaper option.
Schulz also said that “textbook sales are higher…this fall than they were last fall. And yet we’re down 10% [of students].”
Schulz and Zenns believe that the transfer to Aksdemos has been a success. While there still are some hiccups, FSA is working to address these issues and provide solutions for students and faculty in the future.