The used-to-be free textbooks aren’t so free any more. In August 2021 N.C. A&T made the announcement of a partnership with Barnes and Noble to cover book costs for A&T students for the next two school years. 

Now in the 2023-24 academic year, the bills for books are hitting student accounts and causing a stir in the campus community.

A&T’s new book program, known as the First Day Complete Program, is designed to lower costs and increase access to required materials for undergraduate and graduate courses before the first day of classes. 

First Day Complete states that it reduces the cost of traditional textbooks by 35 to 50 percent and allows students to benefit from a “highly personalized concierge service.”

With the increase in tuition at A&T in addition to book costs, which can usually start at $100 , students are looking for ways to cut the price increase down on their bills. The previous free book program allowed students to not worry about the cost of books and find better ways to allocate their funds.

“The program we are in right now is also good but it depends on your situation because now the cost of books is going towards your tuition instead of being out of pocket like it would normally be at a regular university, ” said Kezyah Norman, a junior kinesiology student that works in the bookstore. 

Most classes at A&T have required course materials for set classes but students have stated that they never use the required books in class. Students have also been able to find online sources and locate sites that offer free digital versions of the textbooks that’s needed. 

“I feel like I’m wasting them [textbooks] because the bookstore doesn’t buy them back, claiming it’s old now,” said Heaven Wiley, a senior human nutrition student. 

Unlike the typical college experience of lugging around heavy textbooks, junior kinesiology student Nakayla Belk hasn’t had to rely on them much. Instead, she’s found that her professors post their course materials through PowerPoint presentations.

“Even in my sophomore year here at A&T I can never recall ever using a required textbook for class. Most of my teachers post powerpoints of the material we learn, so I just use the information in there.”

A&T and the bookstore may have to reevaluate the use and need of textbooks in classes because from the perspective of students it looks like an outlet to obtain more funds from students

Find out more about the First Day Complete Program here.