Florida National University understands that purchasing textbooks and course resources are a difficult financial obligation for college students. We understand that many students struggle to decide if purchasing the course textbook and materials is worth the investment, even though it is essential for good grades. Research indicates that supplementing your faculty’s instruction with quality textbooks and learning resources is the best way to help you learn more and perform at a higher level in each course. The average postsecondary student spends between $628 and $1,471 annually for books and supplies as of the 2021-2022 academic year. Hard copy books can cost as much as $400, with an average price between $80 and $150. The price of textbooks increases by an average of 12% with each new edition. (Source: https://educationdata.org/average-cost-of-college-textbooks).
With this in mind, Florida National University has partnered with Cengage, a leading provider of eBooks, textbooks, and learning resources. Cengage helps higher education instructors, learners, and institutions thrive with course materials built around their needs. This new partnership will allow FNU students, who qualify, to pay an annual subscription fee of $189.99 as part of their tuition and fees. Cengage Unlimited is a premier subscription that gives you access to all Cengage online learning platforms, plus their entire library of Cengage eTextbooks for a one-time, flat price. You’ll also get at least 4 FREE hardcopy textbook rentals (you only pay for shipping & handling). If you are assigned more than one Cengage online learning platform (MindTap, WebAssign, OpenNow, SAM, CNOWv2, OWLv2 and Cengage Infuse), a Cengage Unlimited subscription will save you money.
We activated Cengage Unlimited for the Fall A term and the Fall B term, free of charge to students. In the coming weeks, Financial Aid will begin to add the fee of $189.99 to student accounts, for those who qualify. Your Financial Aid Counselor can help you determine if you qualify.
Students in ESL and Nursing CORE classes will not be included in this subscription fee. As we continue to make textbook adoptions and revise course content in these areas, students will be advised if the subscription fee will be added to the CORE programs. Students in Nursing who are in pre-Core courses will be included in the Cengage Unlimited subscription and will be billed the fee in the coming weeks.
For students in the Allied Health, Business Division, Social and Behavioral Sciences Division, and Humanities and Liberal Arts Division, which includes all the general education, mathematics, and science courses, the $189.99 subscription fee will be added to student accounts, for those who qualify. This fee will be added in the next few weeks and is for access beginning in the 2023 Spring A Term. These divisions and the courses they offer have exceeded the book adoption threshold of 80%. In other words, Cengage is the primary textbook used in over 80% of all the courses, including the core programs.
