As CARES Act funding became available in 2020, institutions across the country looked to utilize the funding to help minimize the disparities caused by the pandemic throughout higher education. As campuses scrambled to find programming for allocated funds, the team at Chemeketa Community College found themselves looking to make a big—but equitable—impact on students. 

Meredith Schreiber, director of Auxiliary Services, sat down with us recently for an episode of the Verba | VitalSource Coffee Chat podcast and shared how the Chemeketa Bookstore was able to deliver free digital course materials using CARES Act funding.  

Meredith capitalized on the robust Inclusive Access program already in place at Chemeketa Community College. Expanding the current day-one access program and delivering digital course materials through the students’ learning management system provided a solution that could be easily scaled. This solution was approved quickly as it would not only increase access to required course materials for all students, but it would eliminate the cost of those materials.  

Using the extensive digital catalog by VitalSource to match faculty adoptions and implementing technology that made managing the program at scale possible, the Chemeketa Bookstore team rallied together to ensure day-one access was delivered to the over 8,000 students at Chemeketa for the Fall 2021 term.  “You have to feel it in your heart and have a clear vision of what it is your students need,” said Meredith. It’s clear that this vision has come to life at Chemeketa Community College and students will be relieved to learn that their digital course materials are free due to the passion and hard work of Meredith and the Chemeketa Bookstore team.