Editors note:ย Shortly after this article was published, Anna Wells, market leader from Follet, the company that hosts the BookPass program, reached out to source, Mallory Blake to apologize for any inconvenience caused, and ensured that Blake had been opted out of the Bookpass program and refunded the $210. In addition, Blake was offered a free product of her choice at the campus store.
BookPass, the new textbook affordability and access program at California Lutheran University has garnered differing opinions from both students and staff. These materials are accessible through Canvas, or sent to the bookstore in order to be picked up by the student before classes start.
According to the Cal Lutheran website, the BookPass program is paid for by being embedded into studentโs tuition, meaning studentโs payment plans and/or financial aid can apply. It adds an additional $210 per semester to a student’s tuition. If a student decides to opt out of the program for any reason, they have that option until the end of the add/drop date period each semester.
Mallory Blake, a first-year student at Cal Lutheran majoring in journalism, attempted to opt out of the program, but wasnโt able to do so on her own.
โI tried to opt out because I only needed two textbooks that were fairly cheap. It was unfortunately not a straightforward process,โ she said. โI pressed opt out online, but was then met with a message stating that I couldn’t opt out myself due to the fact that I had a physical book I needed to return first.โ
Blake said she ended up purchasing her textbooks herself, and attempted to return the textbook that was provided for her. After having issues with the process, Blake said she missed the opt-out deadline by one day.
โI was really disappointed with this new BookPass program. The workers said they would reach out to their supervisor and contact me, but no further action occurred. This left me having to waste $150 for a program I don’t need,โ Blake said.
Joshua Lopez, the manager of Cal Lutheranโs bookstore has been overseeing the switch to the new program, and has experienced the varying opinions of students. Lopez said he feels that the practicality of the BookPass system differs between students, and depends on the major of the student.ย
โI think the opting out process has definitely been the biggest negative,โ he said.ย
ย Lopez said that all books for undergraduate students are bought before the beginning of the semester, so any books assigned to students who choose to opt out must be returned by the campus bookstore.ย
โThe opting out process has been kind of confusing on both sides because I think there’s some things we didn’t account for,โ Lopez said. โBackordered books have been keeping a lot of kids not being able to opt out and then we aren’t able to return them,โ he said.
ย Lopez said that he believes there are still positives to the BookPass program.ย
โIt does take a lot of the burden off the student as far as trying to find books,โ He said.ย ย
Casey Camiling, a second-year communications major with an emphasis with public relations and advertising at Cal Lutheran, says that the new BookPass program works for her.ย
โI definitely don’t feel like I have to search around because they have been put together for me in one spot. I really do like it, it’s definitely easier to access everything all in one spaceโ Camiling said.ย
Some students, however, may wish to find textbooks on their own, such as Blake.
โI found the two textbooks I needed for less than $40,โ Blake said.ย
While Blake is not happy with the BookPass program for her situation, she recognized some advantages the program may have for others.ย
โI like how BookPass considers college student’s finances and lowers the cost of textbooks to a one-time payment for the semester. If you’re taking classes that require various โexpensiveโ textbooks, it is worth it and very thoughtful of the university to offer such a program,โ she said.
Camiling said that the program could be an โopt-inโ system as opposed to being automatically enrolled in it each semester.ย
โWe didn’t really know much about it, so I do think that students should be able to opt in after doing their research on it,โ Camiling said.ย
Lopez said the BookPass program has cultivated many mixed emotions from staff and students, and has potential to work better for all.
โAs the manager here, I think the idea in general is good. As a student, I think there are definitely some things that need to be worked out. I think over the next few years as we work out the kinks, it will be a lot better, but overall I think it gives students an option that they didn’t have before,โ Lopez said.
