North Park University Launches Online Bookstore to Reduce Financial Barriers for Students

In an effort to boost textbook affordability for its students, North Park University is making all required course materials available through a new online bookstore that provides expanded options for low-cost textbooks. The institution partnered with course content platform Akademos to create the online textbook marketplace.

The Akademos platform offers new, used and rental textbooks, as well as both digital and hard-copy formats. To streamline the shopping experience, students get a customized view of their registered courses and corresponding materials for each class. Course materials can be purchased using students' existing financial aid funds, helping ensure that textbook costs are not a roadblock to success.

"At a time when many students and families are still experiencing financial hardship during the recovery from COVID-19, we need to do everything we can to make college affordable," said Scott Stenmark, vice president of finance at North Park, in a statement. "The launch of this new full-service, digital bookstore will ensure that our students' financial aid dollars can go farther — and reduce the financial barriers to college access."

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • student reading a book with a brain, a protective hand, a computer monitor showing education icons, gears, and leaves

    4 Steps to Responsible AI Implementation

    Researchers at the University of Kansas Center for Innovation, Design & Digital Learning (CIDDL) have published a new framework for the responsible implementation of artificial intelligence at all levels of education.

  • glowing digital brain interacts with an open book, with stacks of books beside it

    Federal Court Rules AI Training with Copyrighted Books Fair Use

    A federal judge ruled this week that artificial intelligence company Anthropic did not violate copyright law when it used copyrighted books to train its Claude chatbot without author consent, but ordered the company to face trial on allegations it used pirated versions of the books.

  • server racks, a human head with a microchip, data pipes, cloud storage, and analytical symbols

    OpenAI, Oracle Expand AI Infrastructure Partnership

    OpenAI and Oracle have announced they will develop an additional 4.5 gigawatts of data center capacity, expanding their artificial intelligence infrastructure partnership as part of the Stargate Project, a joint venture among OpenAI, Oracle, and Japan's SoftBank Group that aims to deploy 10 gigawatts of computing capacity over four years.

  • laptop displaying a phishing email icon inside a browser window on the screen

    Phishing Campaign Targets ED Grant Portal

    Threat researchers at cybersecurity company BforeAI have identified a phishing campaign spoofing the U.S. Department of Education's G5 grant management portal.