It’s not surprising to know that college textbooks take up a rather significant part of a college student’s annual expenses. Students spend up to
According to a report from Fox Business, Cengage, the biggest textbook manufacturer from the United States, is now going digital in order to aid millennials with their college textbook needs, saving them hundred of dollars per semester in textbook expenses.
Cengage CEO Michael Hansen says in an interview with Fox that more than 1 million college students have already signed up for the supposedly “first-of-its-kind” digital subscription model for textbooks since August of last year. “We reached 1 million subscribers in six months. It took Spotify four years to reach that number,” Hansen proudly says.
The subscription service gives students access to more than 24,000 titles in Cengage’s textbook list for a mere $120 per semester, a far cry from the $500+ of average college textbook costs. If a student needs a physical textbook though, Cengage also offers textbook rentals.
“This is more affordable for millennials today,” Hansen explains. “We have an affordability crisis in this country around education and this new model has already saved students in the U.S. around $60 million dollars.”
Hansen says that Cengage is “disrupting the industry from within,” dubbing the company’s subscription model as the “Netflix of textbooks.”
