Inclusive Access Partnership Boosts Student Retention and Course Success in North Carolina


Partnering with Cengage Learning, Rowan-Cabarrus initiated an inclusive access program in 2014. Through the program, the college purchases digital textbooks directly from Cengage Learning at a discounted price and provides a copy to each student as part of his or her course registration. The program has garnered praise from students for lowering the cost of course materials and for making those materials easy to access. What’s more, course retention and success rates have improved in the two years since implementation, which pleases instructors and administrators.