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8/23/2018
Most students at Ohio University use the program called Top Hat in at least one, if not all of their classes, but some may not realize that the program is helping make the expenses of college a bit more bearable.
According to a news release, the university’s latest textbook savings tally totaled $920,000 since July 11. That total exceeds OU’s May 2018 savings announcement of $600,000 and the original goal of saving students $500,000 by fall 2018.
“The results of OHIO’s partnership with Top Hat underscore the University’s commitment to student access and affordability,” OU President Duane Nellis said in the news release. “Our faculty have truly taken ownership of this fantastic opportunity to create affordable, engaging and interactive course content that enhances OHIO’s classroom experiences.”
Abbey Phillips | ILLUSTRATION
Faculty members participating in the partnership have impacted 7,936 students across the university. OU’s goal is to convert 100 courses to lower-cost textbooks and materials. More than 36,000 OU students are expected to benefit from the partnership with Top Hat.
“OHIO’s faculty are doing an incredible job of adopting, customizing and even authoring interactive educational resources for their courses.” Mike Silagadze, co-founder and CEO of Top Hat, said. “Together, we’re improving student access to high-quality and affordable content that will ultimately raise the bar on student success in their coursework.”
Hannah Verne, a sophomore studying early childhood education, said she appreciates Top Hat and how it makes taking attendance easier and provides ways to get easy points through the quizzes.
“I think textbooks are way too much for the amount of money we’re already spending on tuition and classes,” Verne said in an email.
According to Ohio University, students should expect to spend around $528 a semester on books and supplies in addition to other things such as tuition, room, board, transportation and other personal expenses.
Verne said that on average she spends $100 a semester on textbooks and tries not to buy them new, which saves her money.
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This story is part of a series of specially designed stories that represents some of the best journalism The Post has to offer. Check out the rest of the special projects here.