The Rapid & Continued Growth of First Day® Affordable Access Programs

With 191 campuses now offering BNC’s First Day® Complete equitable access program, approximately 950,000 undergraduate and graduate students—up from 800,000 in the 2023 fall term—benefit from improved course material access, convenience, and affordability. In addition, the First Day® by Course inclusive access program is currently offered through 230 campus stores. This growth demonstrates the priority schools place on providing affordable and reliable course material access to students.

Colleges and universities nationwide, of all types and sizes, are redefining how they serve students as this rapid and continued program growth reshapes course material delivery.

191 First Day® Complete Campuses Across 35 States
34% four-year private colleges or universities
31% four-year state colleges or universities
35% community colleges or technical colleges

The Department of Education’s recent decision to terminate the negotiated rulemaking process on the regulatory area of cash management, which could have potentially impacted some of the cost savings through equitable access programs, enables schools to move forward with affordable access programs at an accelerated rate, spurring additional growth.

Institutions that have implemented First Day Complete report the key drivers for moving to the program as: supporting student success, delivering greater access, convenience and affordability, and maintaining competitiveness in today’s market.

NORTH CAROLINA AGRICULTURAL & TECHNICAL STATE UNIVERSITY
N.C. A&T, a tier-one research university and one of the top-ranked HBCUs, recently ended its relationship with its previous partner, returning to BNC as its exclusive campus retail and First Day Complete partner. For N.C. A&T, the BNC strategic vision and approach better aligned with its mission to deliver a high-quality and affordable education that supports student academic success and instills Aggie Pride.

“This collaboration will continue to enhance the bookstore experience for our students, faculty, and staff. We look forward to a successful partnership that will drive academic excellence and student success,” said Angela Peterson, Associate Vice Chancellor of Campus Enterprises at N.C. A&T.

NORTHERN VIRGINIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE
In a recent webinar, Robert Johnson, Director, Sustainability & Auxiliary Services, Northern Virginia Community College, explained how First Day Complete fits into their strategic initiatives to reduce course material costs for students. First Day Complete has been able to help them bridge the gap to affordability. The school has long held the goal to increase student affordability, but OER wasn’t being adopted in high enough quantities and even the increase in digital adoptions wasn’t ensuring students were prepared for class.

With First Day Complete, the school has been able to dramatically increase student preparedness and lower costs.

EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY
Bill Koch, Associate Vice Chancellor Campus Safety and Auxiliary Services, East Carolina University, explained in the recent webinar why First Day Complete is important to helping ECU reach its highest priority goals.

“The world’s changed. The whole textbook marketplace is different and it’s difficult for self-operated stores to stay up with what’s happening and how quickly it’s changing,” said Koch.

He went on to add, “We need to be ahead of the curve in that competitive environment, at least staying up. And we heard from our students about First Day Complete and they’ve been hearing from their friends at the other schools. So we know that it’s out there and they’re talking about it. Enrollment and retention probably for many of you are a big issue. They are goals for us as an institution and as a UNC system. And so getting students in, getting them an early and fast start with their books and everything else they’re trying to get used to, especially our first year students just coming in, but then also keeping them here and getting them to graduation.”

Barnes & Noble College has established the industry’s best practices for implementing an affordable access program. To learn more about First Day Complete implementation strategies, watch the webinar, and to start a conversation with Barnes & Noble College about implementing affordable access at your school, contact us today.