Since the fall of 2023, the University of Houston’s Cougar Textbook Access Program has saved students $20 million compared to the cost of new books. The CTAP program, first launched as a pilot in Spring 2022, gives undergraduate students access to all required course materials on or before the first day of class for the flat fee of $299, plus a $24.67 sales tax, per semester. 

The astounding savings and the success of the program in just three semesters were touted by UH President and system chancellor Renu Khator during here State of the University speech hailing as one of the ways faculty and staff have raised the bar on support services for students. 

“If CTAP didn’t exist, and students would have had to purchase new textbooks for all their courses, they would have spent an additional $20.7 million over what they have spent under the CTAP program,” said Auxiliary Services Director Matt Oltremari. 

While there were always high hopes for the program, which started as a pilot program in spring 2022, the high dollar savings are “a pleasant surprise” said Oltremari, adding that while surprising, the high savings are possible because of the high participation rate the program has. 

“We’re averaging about 79.6 percent participation,” said Oltremari. “That means that of all undergraduate students that are enrolled in the university, nearly 80 percent of them are participating in the program, on average, each semester.” 

Incoming students are automatically enrolled in the program with the two fees, CTAP Learning Material Fee and CTAP Learning Material Tax, added to the students’ bill. However, a student can opt -in and out of the program until the 12th day of class. 

And students have used that option freely as they learn about the program and its benefits. The UH Campus Store, managed by Follet, has seen this play out. 

Timothy Jackson, Follet Market Leader for the UH System, said they’ve seen it constantly. He adds that oftentimes, students who opt out do it for two reasons. One, they opt out of the program because of the price, not realizing the cost savings. And two, they think they can get cheaper books via a third-party vendor. 

UH Campus Store Manager Natalie Silva said there have been students that have opted out of CTAP who only have one or two classes or don’t require full course materials, hence why the participation rate isn’t higher. Jackson noted that there have been students with one or two classes who have stayed in the program and told him it's because of how simple it makes it to get the course materials. 

“The cost is worth it, just for convenience of it,” said Silva on why students with low course work have chosen to remain in the program. 

Three semesters in and the CTAP program can be labeled a success as its savings and convenience have been a benefit to UH students.