Seeking Equitable Access Amid Academic Capitalism

As enrollments decrease nationally for 4-year public universities and funding sources wither, institutions are increasingly re-evaluating the purpose of higher education. This re-evaluation is characterized by a bleeding over between private and public interests in higher education. Economic factors are forcing the issue of the ethos of higher education: namely, whether institutions should prioritize profit or prioritize educating their population. The push-and-pull between private and public interests bears out most immediately for students, who experience increased costs to attend and persist in college. As university libraries increasingly embody a negotiation site for resource access, student support, and student success and persistence, student affairs professionals must work creatively to meet students’ needs amidst economic and political constraints. This project provides a meaningful response via LibGuide to these needs by outlining less cost-prohibitive alternatives to purchasing directly from textbook vendors, collating information on how their money is being used in relation to these needs, and further information on responding to increased materials cost at their institution and beyond.