Prices they pay: Academic achievement and progress to graduation barriers experienced by community college students due to the cost of course materials

Affordability is considered a key predictor of college enrollment and academic success, yet higher education costs continue to rise. Over the past three decades, textbooks and course materials alone have increased almost three times the rate of inflation (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016). To identify the extent to which course material costs create barriers for community college students, and whether these costs foster inequities for students in traditionally underserved and underrepresented populations, a cross-sectional survey research study was conducted fall 2019 amongst students enrolled in community colleges across the Tennessee Board of Regents system (N = 88,946, n = 1,912). The survey covered course material purchase behaviors, decisions, and experiences related to academic achievement and progress to graduation. Results showed nearly two-thirds of students (68.6%) have delayed purchasing a textbook due to cost. Almost half (41.3%) reported not purchasing required materials, 15.8% reported earning poor grades, and 3.3% reported having failed a course because they could not afford the materials. Logistic regressions were employed to determine whether these extents were disproportionately experienced by non-White, low income, and/or Adult Learners over age 25. Statistically significant differences in academic achievement barriers were found for low-income students, alongside significant progress to graduation barriers for non-Adult Learners, suggesting younger learners are more susceptible to consequences from course material costs. These findings inform policy efforts by helping educational leaders better understand the impacts of course material costs on the ability of community college students to achieve in coursework and progress to graduation.

This is a pre-print version of an article accepted for publication in Innovative Higher Education: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-021-09557-7

The final authenticated version will be available online December 2021 in Volume 46, Issue 6, at which time this document will be updated with the official citation and a direct link to the official version of record.

Acknowledgements and appreciation to the Tennessee Board of Regents Office of Policy and Strategy, especially Amy Moreland for championing this study, and to the IHE article reviewers and faculty in the UT Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies (Lisa Driscoll, Jimmy Cheek) and UT Libraries (Teresa Berry) for their invaluable feedback. Thanks also to Christina Peterson of the UT's OIT Research Computing Support for assistance with analysis, as well as the community college research directors who provided feedback and facilitated survey communications: Traci Williams (Chattanooga State); David Knopp (Cleveland State); Harry Djunaidi (Columbia State); Mary Ricks (Dyersburg State); Sara Vonderheide (Jackson State); Amanda Bowers (Motlow State); Charles Clark (Nashville State); Josh Whitlock (Northeast State); Nancy Ramsey (Pellissippi State); Karen Brunner (Roane State); Colette Catania (Volunteer State); Debbie McCarter (Walters State).