Pearson launches Pearson +, the Netflix Wannabe for textbooks

As if there weren’t enough services with a “+” in their name, here’s another one for your list: Pearson +, the Netflix aspirant for college textbooks.

Pearson recently unveiled Pearson +, a desktop and mobile app that will feature digital manuals from the company’s catalog through a two-tier subscription model. The single level of $ 9.99 per month gives students access to a Pearson textbook, while the multiple level of $ 14.99 gives access to over 1,500 textbooks. In a press release, the company said Pearson + will provide students with the “most flexible and economical” way to access digital textbooks and study tools. The application will be published on American campuses in autumn.

When you compare this offer to the prices of textbooks printed on Pearson’s website at the moment, which include a laboratory manual at $ 63.99 and one engineering manual at $ 181.32, among a range of other prices, this looks like a bargain.

“Students are clear that they prefer the convenience and affordability of digital learning tools like Pearson +,” Pearson CEO Andy Bird said in the statement. “With Pearson +, we are reinventing the learning experience for students and building direct relationships with them, which will allow us to continue to improve the product with the features they need and want.

Bird added that the company wants students to spend less time worrying about buying their books and more time enjoying their college experience. In addition to digital textbooks, Pearson + subscribers will also receive a set of study tools, including audio versions of books, enhanced search functions,created and customizable flashcards, and the ability to change the fonts and backgrounds of books, among others.

Now, while it all sounds dandy, let’s remember the key message here: Pearson + allows one-time or unlimited access to Pearson’s book catalog. It may be very nice, but as the Financial Time points out, many students are assigned textbooks from various publishers.

It could also create another problem: pressuring teachers to choose textbooks that might not be the best for the class.

“Maybe the access agreement, or the pressure from students with subscriptions, means faculty are forced to go with a textbook that isn’t necessarily the best for the course,” Eddie Watson, vice – associate president president for programs and educational innovation at the Association of American Colleges and Universities, told The Times. “The risk is that this rules out other options that could be more open and more affordable.”