Background and Research that Led to Launching Learning Unlimited
To support program implementation, the program was reviewed and discussed with the Council of Deans on February 7, 2023, and per the suggestion of the Council of Deans, the Provost’s Office provided an opportunity to review the program with Academic Department Chairs on March 24, 2023. Program information was also shared with the Undergraduate Student Senate on March 7th. Student feedback during the meeting was very positive and they agreed to partner with the University to evaluate the outcomes of this pilot program.
The University also piloted the program on a course-by-course basis with the following outcomes:
Thanks to several faculty participants, 2,647 students enrolled in the course-by-course pilot program, and 305 opted out (11.5%). Close to 90% of the 2,647 found the program valuable enough to remain in for the courses piloted.
Courses that we piloted:
- FIN 328 (3 semesters)
- GBUS 419 (2 semesters)
- PHY 009 (3 semesters)
- PHY 011 (3 semesters)
- PHY 019 (3 semesters)
- PHY 021 (3 semesters)
- MKT 111 (2 semesters)
- MKT 327
- MKT 415
- SCM 186 (2 semesters)
- COGS 327
- CSE 327
To support this program during the pilot program and to augment access and affordability, $125,000 in textbook scholarship funds have been made available and will be managed by the Office of Financial Aid.
Pilot Program Evaluation
This is a pilot program and as such we will be evaluating the financial impact of the program on student access and affordability as well as surveying students to collect their feedback. This includes evaluating the following questions, to name a few:
- When given the option, which type of class would you rather register for - A Learning Unlimited course or a standard course with a la carte textbook purchases?
- Did you opt out of the fee and why? Having completed the semester, would you still make this same choice?
- What did you like the most about having your course material(s) ahead of time?
- On average, how often would you say you use course materials for your classes?
- Did you feel more prepared for class?
- What do you consider the most important benefit of the program?
- I believe Learning Unlimited contributed to me performing better in class than I might have otherwise (strongly disagree to strongly agree range).
- I believe Learning Unlimited provided me with a more positive student experience because I didn’t have to worry about procuring the materials on my own (strongly disagree to strongly agree range).
- I perceived Learning Unlimited to be the more affordable option for me (strongly disagree to strongly agree range).