Fresno State’s Kennel Bookstore was facing a dilemma: How could they tackle affordability when their sell-through rates were low? The answer to Fresno State’s problem was Inclusive Access, which benefits students, stores, instructors, and publishers.

The Inclusive Access model offers students day-one access to their course materials with the option to opt-out. Universities see the benefits of Inclusive Access, too. With day-one access to course materials, students are more likely to succeed in their classes and therefore graduate—which helps increase retention rates. It’s a win-win.

The pilot kicked off with just 4,161 students split over two semesters, which kept the process manageable for all who were involved. Fresno State chose to use Verba Connect, the industry-leading Inclusive Access management application with tools that allowed the university to cover every aspect of the process—including billing.

During the pilot, the opt-out rate was only about 1% across all students, meaning that a total of 4,109 students benefited from lower prices and day-one access to learning materials. The best part? Fresno State saved students about $250,000 over the two semesters of the pilot.

“The IA program enhances teaching and learning because every student has immediate access on day one ... 100% of my students have opted in to the program, and I do think their literacy and fluency in the subject matter content is improving,” said Dr. Nicole Smith, Assistant Professor at Fresno State

For more information about the success of Fresno State’s IA program, visit: verbasoftware.com/fresno