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Students have often found better prices on textbooks and other school materials than what is offered in the Denison Bookstore. Students with book grants now have less opportunity to take advantage of comparing prices.

In the past, students were able to freely use a book grant award at Denison Dollar locations, but now the award must be spent in the campus bookstore.

Money matters on the hill

Restrictions on book grants force students to spend money as intended

By: Sarah Wiley

Posted: 9/16/09

Upon arriving on campus this year, many students with book grants received an unpleasant surprise: the money in their book grants could now only be used for purchases made in the Denison bookstore. For the past two years, book grant money has been put into students' Denison Dollars accounts, and students were able to use their book grant money anywhere on campus for whatever they wanted. This option is no longer possible due to changes in Denison's account systems.

Book grants are a part of student's financial aid package. According to Seth Patton, Vice President of Finance and Management, "The cost of books is a part of the total cost of education that is taken into consideration when a financial aid award is calculated." A large number of Denison students have book grants; this year there are 897 recipients.

Students who have book grants receive a credit of 325 dollars in their financial aid package. Previously, those 325 dollars were put into the students' Denison Dollars accounts, but now the money is put into a separate account for book grants.

It was never the administration's intent that book grants be a part of a student's spending money on campus. Until two years ago, students had two separate accounts, a Denison Dollars account which could be spent at the snack bar, and a separate Big Red account which could be spent in the bookstore. Book grants were a part of the Big Red account.

When the school decided to make the vending machines card-operable, the administration decided that it would be cumbersome to create a third account for vending machines and chose to combine all of a student's funds into a single account. Patton said that the administration didn't think they would be able to keep book grants separate without a Big Red account, and that it did not seem to matter much because people were able to move their funds back and forth between accounts at will.

However, it was soon noticed that students were not using their book grant money on books. Patton explained that "Denison funds the book grant; everything else is your own money," and therefore the administration would prefer that the money the school gives students be used for what the school intended. After all, scholarship money is put directly into your tuition; you don't have the option of spending it at Disney World, so why should book grant money be any different?

Book grant recipient, sophomore environmental studies major Olivia Nienaber, confirms this trend, saying "I bought all my books used off Amazon. The bookstore was selling a book for around 30 dollars and I got it for two dollars off Amazon." She also expressed disappointment that she would no longer be able to save Denison Dollars to use around campus this year.

Nick Reshan, sophomore from Columbus, Ohio, was also a student who benefited from using the money placed in the Denison Dollars account. "I loved having the Bookstore Grant act as general Denison Dollars last year because I was able to buy all my books and supplies and still have left over money for vending machines and Slayter once I ran out of Flex Dollars."

Patton said that the school's decision to allow students to spend Denison Dollars at Whit's, a Granville custard store, was not a deciding factor in moving the book grant money, however it did make it a greater concern, especially being that it "potentially will expand to some of the other merchants" in town.

Students have mixed opinions about this year's change. Senior international studies major Rebecca Wiley, who also received a book grant, feels that the administration ought to have given students more warning on the change. She said "I'd already bought all the books I needed, and had some [book grant funds] leftover. I wanted to use it for flex which I didn't have." Wiley was disgruntled to discover that her book grant couldn't be used as Denison Dollars. She wishes "that they had sent a notice, maybe an e-mail, because I was on the spot when I tried to use my Denison Dollars."

Despite some disappointment about the change to book grant allocation this year, many students undoubtedly share the perspective of Nick Reshan. "I'm not going to complain," he said, "because I'm just grateful that Denison even offers such a grant at all."