The State of College Course Materials 2022-2024


Attention: There is an updated edition available for this report.

State of College Course Materials 2022-2024

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What this Report Covers

Simba’s State of College Course Materials 2022-2024 has found that college course materials will decrease 3.5% to $3.1 billion in 2022, reversing the previous year’s one year period of positive results. Simba also expects that sales of course materials will continue a slow decline by slightly over 2.0% over the next couple of years.

In addition to analyzing the market size and segments for the college course materials industry, Simba’s State of College Course Materials 2022-2024 provides details on a wide range of other issues, trends, and forces impacting the market. These include types of institutions where students are enrolling; the growth of distance education; federal and state policy and funding developments; print vs. digital growth in instructional materials; the rise of subscription and inclusive access plans; new technology trends; company mergers & acquisitions and operating performance of key companies such as Pearson; Cengage, McGraw Hill; Wiley, Chegg and others; the growth in workforce education and the state and growth of Open Education Resources (OER).

Key Findings

Among the key findings highlighted in the report are:
  • How falling enrollment, which has dropped 1.6% from 2022 to 2021 is negatively impacting the instructional materials industry
  • The increase in the number of faculty using Open Education Resources, which has grown 7% from the year before to a total of 40%.
  • How digital materials are still growing, but at slower rate
  • The impact of the increased activity in workforce education on the industry
About Simba Information

Publishers and investment professionals can trust Simba’s State of College Course Materials 2022-2024 to provide the inside intelligence needed to evaluate the growth potential and understand the trends impacting the market for college course materials.

This report is an essential tool for publishing executives, M&A advisors, market analysts, and industry consultants who need to understand the larger trends and necessary business strategies when considering the college course materials market.

Simba has the knowledge base and perspective gained from more than 20 years’ covering this market and the rapid changes in technology, the economy, mergers, partnerships and public policy that affect it.


  • Methodology
  • Executive Summary
  • Introduction
    • Table The Marist Mindset List for the Class of 2025
  • Market Size & Enrollment
    • Institution Types and Numbers
      • Table Number of U.S. Degree-Granting Postsecondary Institutions, 2020-2021 v. 2019-2020
      • Public vs. Private
      • For-Profit Private Institutions Outnumber Nonprofit Schools
      • Institutions with First-Year Undergraduates
        • Table Degree-Granting Institutions with First-Year Undergraduates, 2019-2020 vs. 2010-2011 vs. 2000-2001
      • Institutional Closure and Consolidation
    • Where Students Are Enrolled
      • Table Total Fall Enrollment in Degree-Granting Postsecondary Institutions, 2000, 2010, 2020
      • Two-Year Enrollments Down, Four-Year Enrollments Up
      • Fall 2021 and 2022 Undergraduate Enrollments Continue the Pattern of Decline
        • Table U.S. Undergraduate Enrollment Percentage Changes by Sector, Fall 2020-Fall 2022
      • Shifting Market for For-Profit Institutions
        • Table Simba Information Career College Enrollment Index
      • The Appeal of Distance Education
        • Table Undergraduate Enrollment in Distance Education Courses, Fall 2020 v. Fall 2019
        • Table Post-Secondary Enrollment in Distance Education, by Type of Institution, Fall 2020
    • Degrees by the Numbers
      • Table Certificate/Associate/Bachelor’s Degrees Awarded, 2019-2020 vs. 2009-2010
    • Fields of Study
      • Table Fields with Largest Number of Bachelor’s Degrees Awarded in 2019-2020 and % Change from 2010-2011
  • Policy & Funding
    • Introduction
    • Costs of Attending College in 2022-2023
      • Table Undergraduate Tuition and Fees, 2022-2023 vs 2021-2022
    • Federal Funding for Higher Education
      • Table Selected Higher Education Programs in President Biden’s Department of Education Budget Request; FY2023P vs. FY2021 Appropriation ($ in 000 except for Max Pell Grant, which is total $)
      • Highlights of Proposed Postsecondary Education Funding
      • Federal Pandemic Stimulus Funding Continues to Have an Impact
      • Education Department News in 2022
    • Taking a Look at Student Loans and Financial Aid
      • Student Loan Forgiveness Faces Legal Challenges
      • Seeking Out Violations and Fraud in the World of Student Aid
      • Addressing Financial Aid Confusion
    • State Support for Higher Education
      • Table State Fiscal Support for Higher Education, FY2022 vs. FY2021 ($ in 000; ranked by % change)
    • Workforce Development
      • Table Apprenticeship Building America Grants, 2022
      • Department of Labor Announces Pre-Apprenticeship Program
  • Course Materials
    • Introduction
    • Long-Term Decline in Course Materials Spend Continues
      • Table Select Findings from 2021-2022 Student Watch
    • Digital Usage
      • Print Makes a Comeback with Teachers Post-Pandemic
      • Survey Shows Satisfaction with Digital Materials
      • Inclusive Access Programs on the Rise
      • Direct-to-Student Subscription Programs Expand
      • Looking to New Technology
      • Segmenting Industry Sales
        • Table Sales by Segment of Key College Course Materials 2022 ($ in 000,000)
        • Table Changes in Digital Higher Education Revenue Share at Three Publishers, Full Years 2019-2021
    • Operating Performance of Providers and Distributers
      • Table Simba Information’s Leading Publicly Traded Higher Education Publishers by Higher Education Revenue, 2021 vs. 2020 ($ in 000)
      • Pearson Launches Pearson+ DTC Subscription
      • Cengage Integrates Businesses, Drives Further Digital Transformation
      • McGraw Hill Changes Hands, Continues Digital Transformation
      • Wiley’s Education Publishing Finally on the Rise
      • Chegg’s Textbook and E-Textbook Revenue Declines
      • Digital DSS, First Day Businesses Fuel Barnes & Noble
    • Open Educational Resources
      • Federal Government Gets Behind OER
      • California Prioritizes OER for Community Colleges
      • OpenStax Expands Implementation, Gains Federal Funding
      • Course Hero, Lumen Pair to Expand Access to OER
      • Institutions Encourage Adoption, Creation, and Use of OER
        • Table Putting OER to Work, 2022
  • Trends and Industry Adaptations
    • Introduction
    • Mergers and Acquisitions in 2021
      • Table Simba Information’s Higher Education Merger & Acquisition Index, 2021
    • M&A Market Cools a Bit in 2022
      • Table Simba Information’s Higher Education Merger & Acquisition Index, 2022
    • Continued Focus on Workforce Education
      • M&A Activity Targets Workforce Readiness
  • Conclusions & Outlook
    • Introduction
      • Table Selected Higher Education Revenue Changes for Instructional Resources Providers, First Nine Months of 2022 vs. First Nine Months of 2021
    • Negative Headwinds Continue
      • Enrollment
      • Workforce Education Competes with Academic Fields of Study
      • Rising Costs Add to Student Pressures
      • Spend on Instructional Materials Still Declining
    • Traditional Colleges & Universities Adapting to New Realities
    • Outlook for College Course Materials
      • Table Sales by Segment of Key College Course Materials, 2022-2024P ($ in 000,000)

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