Dipping our toes in the water: ebooks as part of No Hidden Extras at Coventry University

Phil Vaughan

Assistant Director

Coventry University

• A modern university, incorporated 1992• C 21,000 undergraduates• 38% of student population from overseas• Very diverse student body, with wide range of library skills

and expectations• University very focussed on NSS scores

Background

• No Hidden Extras is the University’s response to the increase in student fees in 2012, and has been in place since then

• The “Promise” is that students will not have to find any further costs to support their studies beyond their basic living costs

Key Drivers

Recruitment - influence students’ choice of university through

commitment to minimising ‘hidden extras’

Student satisfaction - tangible enhancement of the student experience, impact on NSS scores!

Pedagogical - critical to achieving course learning goals

Widening participation – equal access to core material

No Hidden Extras

Each student paying full fees to receive up to £250 per year in learning materials to support their course Start Up Packs – e.g. protective clothing, Sports Kit, Software, laptops, professional subscriptions, art materials

printing credits field trips/day visits support grants for placements, overseas experience, or

international travel

AND Textbooks!!

• Distributed 20,000 books to 3,400 students over 3 week period!

• Books packed by course into “Amazon-style” boxes for issue

• Packs issued to student record

Review of 2012-13

• An enormous logistical operation!• Had to gather requirements from lecturers across 120

courses• Need to estimate likely student numbers in advance of A

Level results• And find a venue big enough!• SO WOULD ADOPTING EBOOKS MAKE THIS

EASIER?!

2013-14: Bigger and Better!

• Year Two students were also now eligible alongside new Year One students

• We distributed 40,000 books to 7,200 students!• A small e-book pilot as an alternative to print was

conducted

E-book Pilot with Vital Source

– Conducted with computer science students across 6 courses (6 texts) and bioscience students across 4 courses (3 texts)

– Students downloaded a personal e-copy of the textbook from the relevant module from our VLE (Moodle)

– The text could be held on up to 4 devices, such as laptops, tablets and smartphones

– Ability to make notes and annotate

Experiences with ebooks

• Students initially slow to download – needed several reminders!• Some initial teething problems:

– Availability of some texts– Downloading – Correct access for authorised groups of students

• But gained momentum: 53% of computing students and 67% of bioscience students downloaded the texts

• Not a high proportion, but higher than the 18% of computing students who collected the print text!!

Feedback

• Students liked the portability and ease of reference• Also liked the ability to annotate and bookmark• But still also liked print: each survey we have run since

the launch of NHE has indicated students prefer print!

Challenges?

• Students have not been previously exposed to ebooks in this way – unaware of possibilities (its not like reading an e-book via our catalogue!)

• Students dislike reading large amount of text on screen• Communications – need to keep reminding students of

their availability and functionality• Ensuring availability of title as e• Persuading academic staff to adopt ebooks – they are

similarly very wedded to print!

Moving Forward

• We continued again with small ebook pilots in 2014-15 with new supplier Kortext with bioscience and business students

• Final year students can also buy etextbooks with credit from our online store

• Currently conducting an overall review of No Hidden Extras in terms of value for money, impact on recruitment and pedagogic value

• We hope to increase the proportion of ebooks offered for 2015-16

Lessons Learned?

• Identify requirements early• Sell the benefits – to staff and students• Identify courses and subjects where it adds maximum

value• Communicate constantly• Review the metrics to inform future projects

Further Information

Forster, S. 2014. E-textbooks at Coventry University: a pilot project.

In: Woodward, H. (ed.) Ebooks in Education: Realising the Vision. Pp. 125–129. London: Ubiquity Press.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5334/bal.n