A Wealth of Choices for Returning Students

Diversity of Course Material Options Offers Savings, Discounts Up To Seventy
Percent
WASHINGTON, Jan. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- This January, when students head back to
class something will be different. They will still return to their dorm
rooms, reunite with friends and acquire their textbooks, but their choices for
learning and savings opportunities will be greater than ever due to the
addition of e-books, no frills and low-cost printed texts, rentals and
customized curriculum.

"Publishers are finding more solutions to meet three critical goals -- to help
improve student success rates, to provide a range of options that meet all
students' budgets, and to help schools control their costs," said Bruce
Hildebrand, executive director for higher education at the Association of
American Publishers.

Students can save an average of $60 per title by purchasing e-textbooks, which
cost less than new or used printed textbooks. Publisher Web sites and sites
such as CourseSmart.com offer more than 7,125 of the most popular textbooks
available. In addition to lower cost and portability, e-textbooks also offer
benefits such as the ease of search functionality, note-taking capabilities
and digital highlighting.

Students also have the option to shop around for their books in different
formats, such as unbound, black and white, audio, paperback, and three-hole
punched binder editions. Students can search publishers' Web sites to find the
available format options or they can discuss a custom textbook option with
their instructor. For example, Wiley PLUS, offered through the Wiley Flex
program and on its own, is as an integrated suite of resources that can save
students up to 50 percent and, according to 75 percent of students polled,
positively impact their grade.

Students can even purchase their books one eChapter at a time on
www.CengageBrain.com. Buying books by the chapter is a great way to save and
budget, and ensures students buy only what they need when they need it.

Some publishers are beginning to offer rental options for print textbooks.
McGraw-Hill Education recently announced the first-ever direct working
relationship between a publisher and textbook rental company. Partnering with
Chegg.com, an online textbook rental company, McGraw-Hill has strengthened its
ability to provide students with a wider variety of options to obtain high
quality educational materials. Cengage Learning also provides students with
the choice to rent textbooks at 40-70 percent off the suggested retail price,
in addition to being able to purchase print textbooks, e-textbooks, e-Chapters
and additional materials directly through CengageBrain.com.

In addition to multiple formats, savvy students can now go directly to the Web
sites of publishers like Bedford Freeman and Worth, Cengage Learning, CQ
Press, Pearson, Wiley, and WW Norton to purchase supplemental materials and
homework solutions in various formats. There, they can often find discount
codes and coupons that provide up to 20 percent off the list price, and perks
such as free shipping and returns with great return policies if a student
makes a mistake or drops a course.

The Association of American Publishers

The Association of American Publishers is the national trade association of
the U.S. book publishing industry. AAP's more than 300 members include most of
the major commercial publishers in the United States, as well as smaller and
non-profit publishers, university presses and scholarly societies. AAP's
Higher Education group represents the needs and interests of member publishers
who produce instructional materials including textbooks and digital products
and services for the post-secondary educational market.

SOURCE Association of American Publishers

Katie Test of Association of American Publishers, Inc., +1-202-220-4556,
ktest@publishers.org