The University of Houston Cougar Textbook Access Program (CTAP) is an exciting rental program that allows students access to course materials on or before the first day of class, at significant savings, over purchasing new retail books. 

First piloted in Spring 2022 with 16 courses and 48 sections participating, the CTAP program continued through the summer and fall semesters. CTAP has proven to be a popular choice among students in participating classes, with over 98 percent of eligible students choosing to remain in the program. To date, almost 27,000 students saved an average of 36-54 percent off new retail pricing, which equates to an astonishing $1 million in savings in just one year of implementation!  

In addition to significant savings, students also benefit because the CTAP fee is added to student fee bills. This means that for a student who is awarded financial aid, if the award surpasses the cost of tuition and fees, the CTAP cost(s) may be covered by the aid the student was awarded. 

The popularity of the program is also reflected in data collected from surveys of participating CTAP faculty and students: 

• 87% of faculty say that CTAP delivery of materials is better or much better than other methods of obtaining course materials for students 
• 83% of faculty say that they agree or strongly agree that CTAP was beneficial to their planning of course outlines and schedules because they knew most of their students would have access to materials on or before the first day of class 
• 61% of faculty felt their students were more prepared for class because most of their students had course materials on or before the first day of class 

• 69% of students said they felt more prepared for class because they received their materials on or before the first day of class 
• 70% of students cited the convenience of having materials ahead of time as the biggest benefit 
• 85% of students said they would like the University of Houston to offer all of their classes using the CTAP model 

Auxiliary Services and the Campus Store are currently in the process of expanding the program to include up to 1,000 sections for Spring 2023. 

Visit the UH Auxiliary Services website for more information about the Cougar Textbook Access Program.