Day 1 Digital is one of Kirkwood Community College’s fastest-growing projects and has grown exponentially since starting in the spring of 2018.
Day 1 Digital, according to Kevin Ault, Kirkwood bookstore manager, is “a program that gives us the opportunity to deliver course materials at the lowest possible price to students. What we do is deliver those materials electronically though Talon and the Learning Management System. The big thing is allowing students access to their course materials on day one.”
As stated by Ault, the course materials were provided electronically at the lowest possible price to students. By using Day 1 Digital, students in select courses can save over 40% of what the “standard” course materials would cost. As an example, Ault said, “In our Human AP 1 and 2 classes we took a physical package that originally cost $266.75 to now – when purchasing a loose-leaf text and digital access code – is $140. That is over 47% savings.”
In addition to the lower cost, these course materials were auto-charged to the student’s accounts to ensure that they were available starting on day one of classes, so students did not have to wait until their next paycheck or Financial Aid dispersal to clear.
Although not everyone may have responded favorably toward the compulsory online course materials, they were given an option to opt-out of the program as long as their request was received prior to a given deadline.
However, students were strongly encouraged not to and were told to speak to an instructor first because classes may also have coursework only available in the digital edition, according Ault.
Ault explained that currently, there is over 99% retention rate for students who were enrolled in classes that participate in Day 1 Digital and only materials that are required by instructors are included in the automatic enrollment.
Ault added that the success of the program was due to high retention rates and successful price negotiations and that the program had exponential growth since starting last year in the spring of 2018, with only one section participating.
There are now 230 sections or approximately 8% of all classes, or over 7,000 students, at Kirkwood using this service in the 2019/20 school year.
If students have questions about Day 1 Digital they are encouraged to contact Ault at Kevin.Ault@kirkwood.edu or visit the Kirkwood bookstore.
Categories: Campus News, News
