Florida Distance Learning Consortium (FDLC) conducted a revised survey of higher education students between January 18 and April 4, 2012 as a follow-up to the 2010 Florida Student Textbook Survey. FDLC administered the earlier survey in response to the Open Access Textbooks Task Force Report (2010). The task force report was pursuant to a 2009 charge by the Florida Legislature to develop a plan for promoting and increasing the use of open access textbooks as a method for reducing textbook costs (Section 1004.091(2), Florida Statutes). The online survey of Florida higher education students was conducted to learn more about some of the issues underlying textbook costs and alternative solutions.

FDLC developed the revised statewide student survey on textbook acquisition and use
with the collaboration of the Board of Governors (BOG) of the State University System of Florida and staff of the Division of Florida Colleges (DFC). In addition, the Consortium
commissioned a consulting statistician, Eric Thomas, Senior Research Analyst with Statistics & Dissertation Services, LLC, to assist with developing survey questions and analyzing the survey data.

The purpose of the survey was to assess students’ textbook acquisition choices, the
reasoning behind them, and the attitudes of students who face the harsh reality of rising textbook costs. Specific objectives of the survey were to identify:
• how much Florida students spent on textbooks during the Spring 2012 semester
• the frequency with which students buy textbooks that are not used
• how students are affected by the cost of textbooks
• what formats students prefer
• what functions students find important
• students perceptions of the availability of textbooks in their institutions’ libraries
• what study aids students perceive to be the most beneficial to their learning

During the spring of 2012, local campus officials solicited student participation. Over
20,000 (n = 22,129) students from all 11 of Florida’s state universities and 22 of its 28 colleges, community colleges and state colleges agreed to participate in the anonymous online survey. Of the respondents, 10,874 (53%) were enrolled in universities, 9,717 (47%) were enrolled in colleges, and 485 (2%) of those were enrolled in both a university and a college.

Keywords

textbooks · student survey · Florida