August 20, 2019
August 20, 2019
BASKING RIDGE, N.J. - Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. (NYSE: BNED), a leading provider of educational products and services solutions for higher education and K-12, today announced a new agreement with VitalSource®, part of Ingram Content Group. Under the agreement, VitalSource’s technology will power the BNC FirstDay™ inclusive access platform, bringing together VitalSource’s advanced technology and Barnes & Noble College’s unparalleled campus and publisher relationships.
“We are pleased to expand our longstanding relationship with VitalSource, combining the unique assets of two industry leaders to provide a best-in-class inclusive access offering. BNC FirstDay is a top priority for BNED, and has become increasingly popular on college campuses as institutions look for solutions that will drive down costs and enhance outcomes for students. In addition to allowing us to respond to our customers’ needs, this model also drives increased penetration rates for BNED course materials sales,” said Michael P. Huseby, CEO and Chairman, BNED. “Transitioning our platform to VitalSource’s state of the art technology allows us to accelerate and optimize BNC FirstDayimplementations. This long-term partnership also allows us to focus even more BNED resources on our core strength—providing exceptional service and support to students, faculty, academic leaders and administration. We look forward to driving adoptions of BNC FirstDay at an accelerated pace on campuses nationwide.”
This partnership will drive affordability, access and achievement for students nationwide, making it easier for faculty members and academic leadership to implement an inclusive access solution on their campus. BNC FirstDay offers course materials at reduced prices through a course materials charge for participating programs. Students have the option to receive their materials on or before the first day of class, delivered seamlessly through their learning management system.
“We are excited to extend our relationship with Barnes & Noble Education for the delivery of affordable digital course materials through BNC FirstDay,” said Shawn Morin, Chief Executive Officer and President of Ingram Content Group. “This partnership reaffirms our shared mission to ensure that students have access to quality, affordable materials on the first day of class.”
According to research from Barnes & Noble College Insights℠, 49% of students said they were not prepared with their course materials on the first day of class. Inclusive access models, including BNC FirstDay, ensure students have the materials they need at more affordable prices at the start of the semester, allowing faculty members to begin instruction – and students to begin learning – on day one.
ABOUT BARNES & NOBLE EDUCATION, INC.
Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. (NYSE: BNED) is a leading provider of higher education and K-12 educational products and solutions. Through its Retail segment, Barnes & Noble Education operates 1,448 physical and virtual bookstores across the U.S., serving more than 6 million students and faculty. Through its Digital Student Solutions segment, the Company offers direct-to-student products and services that help students study more effectively and improve academic performance, enabling them to gain the valuable skills necessary to succeed after college. Through its Wholesale segment, the Company operates one of the largest textbook wholesale distribution channels in the United States. For more information please visit www.bned.com.
BNED companies include: Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, LLC, MBS Textbook Exchange, LLC, BNED LoudCloud, LLC, Student Brands, LLC, and PaperRater, LLC. General information on Barnes & Noble Education may be obtained by visiting the Company's corporate website: www.bned.com.
ABOUT VITALSOURCE TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
VitalSource Technologies LLC, part of Ingram Content Group, is improving the learning experience by making it easier to create and deliver effective and affordable content. The preferred choice among educational institutions and companies for digital learning materials, VitalSource helps over 1,000 educational content providers create and deliver seamless interactive learning experiences through its exclusive Bookshelf® platform to millions of learners at 7,000 institutions. Bookshelf users opened more than 20 million digital textbooks last year and read more than 3.3 billion pages. Follow VitalSource on Twitter at @VitalSource.
