Think you know everything about the college market?
OnCampus Research®, a division of the National Association of College Stores (NACS), provides key insights and industry-specific data from students, faculty, and campus store operations.
Students
$342
Average course materials spending dropped to $342 in 2023-2024, the lowest recorded in the 16 years Student Watch has tracked this figure.
$39
The average per course cost for course materials was $39 in 2023-2024.
37%
More students (37%) prefer digital to print (31%), though many students say it depends on the course.
Source: Student Watch™ Attitudes and Behaviors toward Course Materials 2023 Report.
Faculty
- Faculty required 3.5 course materials on average across the 3.6 courses they taught. This was the lowest number of materials required by faculty since Faculty Watch began tracking this measure in 2016.
- Print remains the most widely used course material format by faculty. In 2023, 72% of faculty used print materials. Print use has leveled off in the past two years.
- In 2023, 39% of faculty had used open educational resources. About a third of faculty reported that uncertainty about what titles are available or concerns about quality were barriers to using OER.
- More than two-thirds (70%) of faculty who have not participated in inclusive access say they are interested in participating.
- In 2023, 61% of faculty knew the cost of all their materials and 24% knew the cost of at least some of their materials.
Source: Faculty Watch: Attitudes & behaviors toward Course Materials 2022.
Industry
4000
Nearly 4,000 campus stores serve the U.S. collegiate retailing market.
5.2
Median annual sales for U.S. college stores were $4.9 million in 2019-20 and 5.2 million in 2020-21
$490
The average estimated college store revenue per FTE (full time enrolled student) is $490.
Source: NACS Independent Campus Store Financial Survey from 2020-21 academic year
