THE University of the West Indies (UWI) is expanding its drive to put the cost of textbooks well within the reach of students at the tertiary level with the introduction of electronic textbooks, which could cut book costs by more than 50 per cent.

Dubbed UWI TEST (Total Electronic Solutions Tablet), the project will deliver the prescribed textbooks straight to the tablets of students at a fraction of the cost of the printed versions.

“At the start of the new academic year, electronic textbooks will not only be rolled out in three additional faculties of the university, but will also be introduced to three community colleges and two high schools. The main aim of this project is to get textbooks into the hands of students at a price that they can afford,” said Ronald Robinson, project head for UWI TEST.

First launched in 2012 in the Faculty of Medical Sciences on the Mona campus, the project gave each student access to 18 core books needed to complete their entire programme at a cost of US$199.76 per annum. Without this option, a student would have paid as much as US$129.04 for only one of their many textbooks.

Subsequently, because the prices of electronic books are generally lower than printed ones, Robinson said UWI has formed partnerships with major publishing houses such as Pearson, Wiley, Lippincott, and others to further enable them to negotiate favourable price points.

Robinson explained that the project was not designed to be a major income-earner for the institution, but a small profit is expected.

“The principle is that we earn a commission from each book and device when they do buy it. The percentage of the commission earned is usually well within the single-digit range, and varies depending on the package purchased,” he said.

Students who already own their own devices can get access to these texts by downloading the bookshelf app, Vital Source. However, students who don’t own a tablet can make arrangements to purchase one at a favourable cost through partnerships the UWI has forged with Kindle, Toshiba and Apex.

Moreover, monthly and yearly subscriptions or perpetual ownership of textbooks give students the option to spend what they can afford, only for the duration that they will use the text.

Robinson anticipates that the project will have a major impact on the textbook industry and change how traditional bookstores do business.

“In an economy where people are looking to get the most out of the dollar, they are going to choose the more affordable alternative, so I have no doubt that it will affect the sale of printed books, because it is just so much more expensive to have a printed book,” he said.

Robinson added that the downturn in purchases of textbooks has forced publishers to adjust to the reality of the electronic text to survive.

“The closure of large publishing companies, such as Barnes and Nobles, due to the sharp decline in the sale of printed books speaks volumes to this fact,” he said.

Robinson explained that a large-scale roll-out into secondary schools is a long-term goal of the UWI TEST project, but extensive discussion with the Ministry of Education is required as the Government absorbs the cost of the books used in book rental schemes.

However, institutions that wish to participate in the project will be faced with no financial cost, as a simple agreement on the types of textbooks to be used is among the few requirements needed to participate in this project.

The project will expand its reach beyond the UWI, based on the success of a pilot project at Campion College, Jamaica College and Mico University College last year.

— Kimberley Hibbert