(MERIDIAN) The financial gurus at Broadview University have come up with an innovative, creative way to help students save even more money. Along with educating students on the importance of applying for scholarships and making sound money decisions, the Financial Aid Department has created a way to help students hit the books without breaking the bank.
Financial Aid Director Cynthianna Hamrick came up with the idea for the Student Book Exchange. In just one quarter, the completely free book program has helped students save more than $3,000.
The program—called the Student Book Exchange—is Cynthianna Hamrick’s brain child. The campus’s Director of Financial Aid came up with the idea when she started seeing student after student paying high prices for books. Her goal was to establish a system for students to exchange books they were no longer using for books they currently needed. The best part about it—all exchanges are free.
Hamrick spent the Spring Quarter telling every student who came through Financial Aid about the exchange. By the end of the quarter, she had 75 books ready to go. Many of the books available are for foundations classes such as math, writing, biology, and Global Citizenship. But there are some other books for keyboarding, anatomy and physiology, medical assisting, and computers.
“When the program kicked off at the beginning of the Early Fall Quarter, 32 students had reserved books,” Hamrick said. “When I started figuring out how much we actually helped students save—it added up to more than $3,000. Not too bad for the first time around.”
Here is how the exchange works.
● Students must donate one book for every book they want.
● Up to two books can be borrowed at a time.
● Every book which is borrowed must be returned immediately after finals are completed.
“For some students, this program has made the difference on whether they can start school immediately or whether they have to wait until the next quarter,” Hamrick said. “I can’t wait to see what it will do in the future as it continues to grow.”
For more information about the Student Book Exchange, or to reserve books for the upcoming Fall Quarter, contact Cynthianna at chamrick@broadviewuniversity.edu.
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That is AWESOME!!! What a great idea Cynthianna. I would definitely be participating in that if I was still there. What a great way to help out other students.