Oppose Pete Complete
On Wednesday Nov. 1 the Academic Senate will vote on the Pete Complete Book Program. I will vote in opposition.
The main reason for my opposition is that the program is an opt out rather than an opt in program. Devising the program in this way is not a financial benefit for the students. Barnes & Noble could simply implement a program for Youngstown State University students that caps the total rental price for required course material in a semester. No YSU payment would be necessary.
Speaking of rentals, senators should be aware of the price comparisons presented to students who are considering not opting out of the program (easier if we could say “opt in”). Students will be comparing the price of renting used material from Barnes & Noble to that of buying brand new material. Would not comparing rentals to rentals be more informative?
At both the last senate meeting and the information session that I attended, it was mentioned that students who were taking a heavy load of general education classes tended to be more likely to not opt out (tongue twister again) of the program. Has the following been considered? Perhaps upper-level students have recalculated the “savings” of not opting out of paying $23 per credit hour to rent course material.
Jamal Tartir
Professor of mathematics
Boardman, OH