Early Childhood Education Cabinet to Meet Amidst Changing Landscape

The Connecticut Early Childhood Education Cabinet next meets on March 28 in Middletown, less than two months after Governor Dannel Malloy announced the establishment of an Office of Early Childhood (OEC) by merging functions previously under the jurisdiction of five different agencies. The new agency is designed to provide a comprehensive, collaborative system for delivering improved programs and services to children ages zero to five and their parents. The meeting also comes a year after the Cabinet, which was reformed by former Gov. M. Jodi Rell in 2010, issued a Needs Assessment report, which included the following sit-up-and-take-notice statistics:

• There are approximately 212,504 children from birth to age five in Connecticut; 29,379 of those children live in poverty and 78,803 children are from low income families.
• Approximately 161,013 of children under the age of six are potentially in need of child care.
• The state currently has 2,173 child care centers, with 25% of the centers nationally accredited .
• The annual cost of center-based care for an infant is $12,469, approximately 15% of the state’s median family; income.  The annual cost of care for an infant in a family child care setting is $9,230, 11% of the median family income.
• According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, 6% of Connecticut’s children under the age of six are experiencing extreme poverty.
• The percent of Connecticut children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment is 26%, with 10% of children having at least one unemployed parent.
• The number of children served in Connecticut’s emergency shelters increased by 15% between 2010 and 2011.

The new Office of Early Childhood is a product of work by agency commissioners, early childhood education and development advocates, parents, caregivers, and other stakeholders, the Malloy administration explained.  It is comprised of related programs that were previously housed in five separate state agencies, and builds on work done in 2012 when Connecticut invested $9.8 million in early childhood initiatives, created 1,000 new spots for early learners, invested $3 million for a tiered quality rating and improvement system.

The purpose of the Early Childhood Education Cabinet has been to develop a high-quality, comprehensive system of early childhood education among the wide array of early childhood programs in the state (including Head Start, child care and School Readiness). It is chaired by Fairfield Schools Superintendent David Title. The Cabinet’s 2012 report concluded by stating their commitment to serve as “the catalyst for ongoing coordination and collaboration with statewide stakeholders to ensure that Connecticut’s youngest children have increased access to high quality early learning experiences as a foundation for lifelong success.”

Under Gov. Malloy’s revamped Office of Early Childhood, 71 staff will move to the new office, and four new positions will be created—an Executive Director and three staff positions.  The OEC will require a $370,000 investment in fiscal year 2014, and will use the Department of Education administrative and back office support. It will phase in over two years.

The planning of the OEC was made possible by support from the William Casper Graustein Memorial Fund, the Early Childhood Collaborative funders, and the Early Childhood Alliance.

Small Business Development Center is Re-launched At UConn Campuses, Chambers of Commerce

The Connecticut Small Business Development Center (CTSBDC), a collaborative initiative of the federal Small Business Administration (SBA), State of Connecticut and University of Connecticut, is being rebooted, redesigned and re-launched in an effort to be more responsive to the state’s small and newly-forming businesses. CTSBDC is a five-year, $11.6 million program to provide financial and technical assistance to businesses with 500 or fewer employees – which accounts for roughly 93 percent of Connecticut employers.

The initiative was announced by UConn’s Vice President for Economic Development Mary Holz-Clause and state Commissioner of Economic and Community Development Catherine Smith during Connecticut Business Day at the State Capitol.  They were joined by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, President and CEO of the Business Council of Fairfield County Chris Bruhl, UConn Board Chair and Middlesex Chamber of Commerce President Larry McHugh and business leaders from across the state.

“The new SBDC is designed to focus more like a private sector business: close to its customers, interconnected, efficiently using scarce resources, and offering a slate of innovative new services,” Bruhl said. “With a statewide network of 11 local SBDC offices, the Center strives to build the local ecosystem, recognizing that small business begins at the local level.”

The program will fund 16 full-time positions and two part-time positions, with individuals located at each of the 11 service centers, including seven local Chambers of Commerce and four regional UConn campuses, as well as the UConn campus in Storrs, and the Department of Commerce Export Assistance Center in Middletown.

During the news conference, Holz-Clause pointed out that the University is an ideal home for the SBDC, as the power of UConn’s network of more than 100,000 alumni can be tapped to serve as both mentors and connectors for small businesses to ensure they are successful. In addition, the six regional campuses provide the SBDC with an established network of satellite sites that are already engaged in local, state, and national business development efforts. She also noted the work of organizations such as UConn Ventures, which are helping to launch new businesses based on research and innovation at UConn.

“UConn is really focused on growing Connecticut’s economy from the ground up,” said Holz-Clause. “That’s why this partnership is such a perfect fit for us. It builds on some of our existing strengths and gives us a front-row seat for truly exciting developments in the state’s business community.”

Governor Malloy pointed out that “The reinvigorated Small Business Development Center takes our economic development strategy to a new level, combining the academic strength and resources of our flagship university with the knowledge and reach of our chambers of commerce, to bring technical and financial assistance to the sector responsible for the overwhelming majority of our jobs: small businesses.”

The Small Business Development Center program, administered by the federal government’s Small Business Administration, has been providing service to small businesses for more than 30 years and is one of the largest professional small business management and technical assistance networks in the nation with over 900 locations across the country.  In Connecticut, it had been based at Central Connecticut State University and the Connecticut State University System in recent years.  Previously, UConn had hosted the program.

For more information regarding the SBDC and its programs, please visit the newly designed  website at  www.ctsbdc.org. To learn more about UConn’s Office of Economic Development, please visit www.innovation.uconn.edu.

First-in-Nation Audio Service for Hospitalized Children Launched in Connecticut

In what may be the first program of its kind in the nation, CRIS Radio and Connecticut Children's Medical Center are working together to offer children who are patients at the hospital a new way to pass their time while receiving medical treatment. Connecticut Children's patients may now listen to CRISKids, a service that provides audio versions of articles published in nearly 20 award-winning children's magazines, through the hospital's in-house television system.  The audio alternative to printed magazines - through an in-house system streamed to each patient TV – can be tremendously comforting for young patients unable to read or turn pages of a magazine due to their condition or medical treatment.

CRIS (Connecticut Radio Information System) is a 34-year-old nonprofit based in Windsor and is Connecticut's only radio-reading service providing audio access to news and information for people who are blind or print-handicapped, including those unable to read due to physical, learning, intellectual or emotional disabilities.

CRISKids, the only extensive line-up of audio versions of children's magazines in the nation and Canada, was launched in December 2011.  More than a dozen titles are available, mostly for children aged 4 to 15, including National Geographic for Kids, Science World, Ranger Rick,  Junior Scholastic, Sports Illustrated for Kids and Scholastic News.

CRIS Board Chairman William H. Austin said that the Board “is excited to form a partnership with Connecticut Children's and thankful for the funding support received to bring this project to life.  Comcast provided technical assistance and a donation of special equipment necessary for the project. Other funders of the project include the Ellen Jeanne Goldfarb Memorial Charitable Trust, and the Ahearn Family Foundation.

"The availability of CRISKidsTM in patient rooms will allow children to enjoy educational entertainment, which is an extremely valuable offering and can be a helpful component of the healing process," said Martin J. Gavin, President and CEO of Connecticut Children's Medical Center.

The CRISKids initiative has received financial support from several foundations, including: Help for the Blind of Eastern Connecticut, Fund for Greater Hartford, The Gibney Family Foundation, and the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.

CRIS Radio records more than 70 newspapers and magazines to provide audio access to printed material for people who are blind and print-handicapped. The audio recordings can be heard with a special CRIS radio, toll-free through the CRIS Telephone Reader, online streaming live or on-demand at the CRIS Radio website, www.crisradio.org, or with any mobile device, including tablets or smartphones.  CRIS operates with nearly 350 volunteers at its broadcast center in Windsor and four satellite studios located in Danbury, Norwich, Trumbull and West Haven.  The CRISKids program is also available for individual subscription.

Connecticut Children's Medical Center is a nationally recognized, 187-bed not-for-profit children's hospital serving as the primary teaching hospital for the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. Named among the best in the nation for several of its pediatric specialties in the annual U.S. News & World Report "Best Children's Hospitals" rankings.

CT Ranked #4 as More Students Succeed on AP Exams; Gap Widens for Latino, Black Students

The College Board, in its annual report on the state of the Advanced Placement program – known to high school students as AP classes – determined that mean scores and overall participation in the AP exam both grew last year, but inequities in the availability of the exams and programs persists across socioeconomic and racial backgrounds. Connecticut ranked #6 nationally in the percentage of 2012 public high school graduates succeeding on AP exams, but disparities continued in Connecticut and nationwide in the number of minority students taking and succeeding in AP classes.  The state ranked #4 in the nation for the largest change in the overall percentage of students scoring well on the AP Exam, from 15.5 percent in 2002 to 26.9 percent in 2012, a jump of 15.5 percent.

Data indicate that in Connecticut, however, the gap widened from 2011 to 2012 in the percentage of African-American students and Latino students in the graduating class who took AP classes.  Ten states eliminated the gap for Latino students; three states did so for African-American students.

The publication Inside Higher Ed noted that the report designated “promoting equity” as a major goal for the AP program in the coming years, and although lack of equal access and opportunity remains an issue, the findings reported several positive signs over the past year in this regard.  The report states that in 2012, disparities in participation and success shrank in 30 states for African-American students and in 17 states for Latino students.

Among the class of 2012, more than 300,000 students identified as having a high likelihood of success in AP did not take any recommended AP Exam. To succeed on an AP exam, students need to score a 3 or higher on a 5-point scale. Many colleges and universities offer college credit for passing scores. AP courses are offered in a variety of subjects, including math, science, foreign language, English and history.

According to the report, nationwide the number of high school graduates taking the AP exam in 2012 was 954,070, or 32.4 percent, up from 30.2 percent in 2011, and 18 percent a decade earlier, in 2002. Hundreds of thousands of academically prepared students with the potential to succeed in AP — including a disproportionately large percentage of underserved minority students — are graduating from high school without having participated in AP classes.

AP participation also increased among low-income graduates, who accounted for 26.6 percent of students who took at least one AP examination. This is an increase from 11.5 percent in 2003.

ctlatinonews.com cited ABC News Univision in reporting that more Latinos are taking the test than in previous years, according to the report, and more of them are succeeding. But the data revealed significant inequities in AP participation along racial/ethnic lines, with underserved minority students who demonstrated readiness for AP much less likely than their similarly prepared white and Asian/Asian American/Pacific Islander peers to experience AP course work.

Writing in the Miami Herald, Trevor Packer, Vice President of the Advanced Placement Program at The College Board, pointed out that “Under-represented minority students who show readiness to succeed in AP are less likely to actually take AP than their white and Asian peers. In AP math course work, for example, among every 10 students who are ready for an AP math course, 60 percent of Asian students, 40 percent of white students, 30 percent of Latino and African-American students, respectively, and 20 percent of American Indian/Alaska Native students participate in the program.”

Why are many minority students not enrolled in advanced placement classes? One reason cited in the report is a lack of access. Many attend school where the coursework is simply not available. The report offers suggestions for improving access to AP courses, while noting that schools can run into obstacles such as a lack of funding or properly trained teachers.  Schools need to do a better job of notifying students that they are eligible for the courses, the report says. Once students are enrolled, the report says that schools should provide support, in the form of peer-to-peer mentoring, counseling and tutoring.

Top 10 States in Percentage of 2012 Public High School Graduates Succeeding on AP Exams

1. Maryland (29.6%)
2. New York (28.0%)
3. Massachusetts (27.9%)
4. Florida (27.3%)
5. Virginia (27.2%)
6. Connecticut (26.9%)
7. Maine (24.8%)
8. California (24.7%)
9. Colorado (24.2%)
10. Vermont (22.8%)

Quinnipiac Skates to New Heights; Games Over for MCC

While one is flying high, the other is grounded.  That’s the world of difference now facing student-athletes at two Connecticut higher ed institutions.  Quinnipiac University’s hockey team is ranked number one in the nation, the first time that’s happened for a team from the Hamden school.  Over at Manchester Community College, officials have announced plans to eliminate all sports at the school, due to budgetary cutbacks, abruptly ending the collegiate sports careers – and possibly the college attendance – for student athletes in soccer and basketball.  Baseball was eliminated earlier this decade. Quinnipiac was just voted atop the USCHO.com poll on Monday for the fourth successive week, according to The New Haven Register.  The USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll consists of 50 voters, including 28 coaches from the Division I conferences and 22 beat writers and sports professionals from across the country.

The Bobcats (24-5-5) received 36 of 50 first-place votes to keep them ahead of No. 2 Minnesota, which had 12 first-place votes. The nationally-ranked No. 1 Quinnipiac team defeated No. 18 Dartmouth, 4-1, in its final regular-season game of the 2012-13 season. Quinnipiac improves to 24-5-5 overall and will finish the ECAC Hockey regular season at 17-2-3. The Bobcats were 11-0-0 against ranked opponents for the year.

In Manchester, college President Gena Glickman told The Hartford Courant that the athletic program costs the school about $370,000 - at a time when hard decisions and cuts need to be made.  While announcing plans to eliminate the sports program, she acknowledged that some students who would otherwise not attend college do so because of the athletic opportunities, and have a high rate of academic success, with many continuing on with their education after earning their Associate’s degree.

Men's soccer coach Darren Foster said that he would not be where he is now without having attended Manchester CC, after his military service in Afghanistan. Athletic director Cynthia Washburne attended MCC for a semester in 1981 before going on to play softball at Eastern.

No word on whether the funds can be located – or donated from an outside benefactor – to reverse the decision and keep the programs alive at MCC for at least another year.  Such a rescue appears unlikely.  Of Connecticut's 12 community colleges, only New Haven's Gateway Community College is slated to offer sports next year, even though education officials acknowledge that athletics is a way in to higher education for some students - students who might not otherwise pursue college.  .

After winning its first Cleary Cup, for the ECAC Hockey Regular-Season Championship, two weeks ago, Quinnipiac earned the top seed and a first-round bye in the ECAC Hockey Tournament. The Bobcats will host an ECAC Hockey Tournament Quarterfinals series on Mar. 15-17.

The thinner ice, it turns out,  is in Manchester.  In Hamden, there’s solid ground.

CT Girlcott Set to Make History, Opens Make-Up Free Photo Exhibit

March is Women’s History Month, and a number of local organizations in Greater Hartford have come together looking to make some history of their own.   They’ve organized CT Girlcott, a movement of women willing to go makeup free for the month (or part thereof) and to donate the money usually spent on cosmetics to organizations that benefit women and girls in Connecticut and around the world.  The effort also aims to raise awareness around body image and the relationship between women and the makeup they wear. Among the organizers are Charter Oak Cultural Center, YWCA Hartford Region, Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, University of Hartford Women for Change, Women’s Education and Leadership Fund, CT Humanities, and the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women.  A website, www.ctgirlcott.org has been launched highlighting the initiative.

The Charter Oak Cultural Center is hosting a photography exhibition as part of CT Girlcott which features the images of the women leaders who have “dared to bare it all for the camera.” Revealed: Images of Women Leaders Who Bared to Make Change opens with a reception on February 28, 6-8 PM, and runs through April 13.  Photographs of over thirty women leaders from the Greater Hartford community will be revealed without their make-up, including many familiar names (and faces).

Girlcott is "a movement of Connecticut women raising consciousness" on behalf of women around the world and the issues currently confronting women in 2013.  Girlcott asks women to “girlcott” (as opposed to boycott) make-up for the month of March and to donate the monies spent on cosmetics to organizations and programs that help and support women and girls in Hartford and internationally. Connecticut Humanities provided funding for the exhibition, which includes the work of photographers Nilofer Haider, Lena Stein, and Nicolette Theriault.

CT Girlcott hopes to encourage conversations among women about body image, definitions of beauty, and what cosmetics are really covering up, and support the flourishing of women and girls in Connecticut, as well as in developing and war-torn countries.  The initiative also seeks to raise awareness about the representation of women in the media, the pressures women live with to look a certain way, the objectification of women, and the impact all of this has on women’s lives and the life of the nation and world.

High Marks for PBS Programming, Affiliate Stations

Connecticut Public Television will celebrate its 50^th anniversary at a gala on June 8 at the Hartford Marriott.  CPTV is a locally and nationally recognized producer and presenter of quality public television programming, including original documentaries, public affairs shows and educational programming.  CPTV has built a reputation as a leader in children’s programming, including playing an historic role in bringing Barney & Friends™, Bob the Builder™ and Thomas & Friends™ to public television. The station is an affiliate of PBS, the Public Broadcasting Service, which just released its annual survey on public perception of its programming. The survey confirmed that PBS and its member stations are ranked first in trust among nationally known institutions, and are considered an "excellent" use of tax dollars by the American public.  The yearly study has also called PBS the most fair network for news and public affairs 10 consecutive times. In the most current round of research, PBS KIDS was named the most educational TV/media brand, the safest destination for children to watch television or visit online, and the top provider of content that helps children learn reading, math and essential skills. In each question, PBS KIDS significantly outscored cable and commercial broadcast television.

• More than 4 in 5 people trust PBS (85% "trust a great deal" or "trust somewhat")
• Nearly 3 in 4 participants (76%) believe federal funding for PBS is money well spent. 
• More than 4 in 10 respondents (44%) named PBS KIDS the most educational TV/media brand, significantly outscoring the second most highly rated brand, Disney, which was considered most educational by 12%.
• Eighty-one percent (81%) agreed "strongly or somewhat" that "PBS helps prepare children for success in school and life."   

PBS received high marks for the effectiveness of its programming for children and adults in terms of handling important topics. A majority of respondents believed PBS programming addressed key subjects – from providing access to the arts and improving literacy to providing access to a variety of viewpoints either “very well” or “well.”

•    Provide people access to arts and culture – 67% •    Promote an understanding of American history – 62% •    Inform people of America’s ethnic and cultural diversity – 60% •    Promote an understanding of science and technology – 60% •    Improve literacy – 59% •    Provide access to a variety of viewpoints – 54% •    Inform people of important political and social issues – 51% •    Inform people about health issues – 51%

• 8 in 10 people (80%) agreed “strongly or somewhat” that “PBS helps prepare children for success in school and life.” This statement was equated with cable television and commercial broadcast television by 37% and 34% of participants, respectively.(3)

• Eighty-four percent (84%) agreed “strongly or somewhat” that PBS “helps children improve their reading and math skills.” Cable and commercial broadcast television received this rating from 40% and 30% of respondents, respectively.(3)

• Eighty-eight percent (88%) agreed “strongly or somewhat” that PBS “is a trusted and safe place for children to watch television.” Only 34% and 36% of respondents agreed with this statement regarding cable and commercial broadcast television, respectively.(3)

• Eight-five percent (85%) agreed “strongly or somewhat” that PBS “is a trusted and safe place for children to visit online,” while this statement was attributed to cable television and commercial broadcasters by only 31% and 34% of the sample, respectively.(3)

• Eighty-three percent (83%) agreed “strongly or somewhat” that PBS is "the innovator" in children’s educational media. 37% percent and 27% of participants also applied this statement to cable and commercial broadcast television, respectively.

The research was conducted in January and February 2012 by the independent, non-partisan research companies Harris Interactive and ORC Online Caravan. Each year, PBS commissions research to measure its performance and value as judged by its most important stakeholder – the American public.  Full results are available at http://to.pbs.org/most-trusted-2012.  

International Students Are Half of UConn MBA Class of 2013

The Class of 2013 student profile for the University of Connecticut’s School of Business provides interesting insight into those going through UConn to make their mark on the business world.  The university’s website reports the stats are an indication of the program’s “success in recruiting top-notch talent from a myriad of backgrounds.”  Of particular note:

• 69% of the students are male, 31% are female
• 50% are from the United States, 50% are international students
• Among the states represented are Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin
• Among the nations represented are China, India, Japan, Serbia, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and the U.S.
• The undergraduate degrees of the MBA students are 31% business, 21% humanities/social studies, 17% engineering, 11% math/physical science, 7% economics, and 2% information science/computer science.
• The average years of work experience is 5.1
• The average age is 28

The UConn School of Business was recently ranked among the Top 40 programs in North America and Top 200 worldwide for three graduate programs. The rankings were awarded by Eduniversal's Top 200 "Best Masters and MBA Worldwide" 2012-2013, which provides a global overview of the best post-graduate programs in 30 specializations in 153 countries. The programs and rankings were:

• Top 200 Best Masters in Engineering and Project Management Global Ranking:
• MSc in Business Analytics and Project Management - #35 in North America
• Top 200 Best Masters in Business and Commercial Law Global Ranking:
• MBA/JD Degree Program - #37 in North America
• Top 200 Best Masters in Executive MBA Global Ranking
• Executive MBA Program - #40 in North America

All of which are numbers and notoriety to ponder when encountering students coming and going from UConn's distinctive School of Business in downtown Hartford.

Sustainability, Green Infrastructure Advance in CT

When considering Connecticut’s progress in sustainability, green infrastructure, and green investments, a variety of statistics help to tell the story.  Among them:

• The U.S. Department of Energy considers 13 percent of Connecticut’s electricity as coming from renewable resources, ranking the state 31^st in the nation.  The majority of the renewable power comes from biomass and hydropower, as reported in the Connecticut Green Guide (www.CTGReenGuide.com).

• Connecticut’s transportation sector employees more green workers than any other industry in the state, with 8,238 green jobs.

• In the Northeast, 76 percent of companies use at least one type of green technology or practice.  According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the most popular green methods are:

1. Energy efficiency
2. Waste reduction
3. Conserving natural resources
4. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions
5. Removing pollutants from workspace
6. Generating onsite renewable energy

• Connecticut Innovations, the state’s quasi-public investment firm, currently puts 6 percent of its portfolio into clean technology start-ups.  Here’s the portfolio breakdown:

1. Information technology               49.5%
2. Bioscience                                           42%
3. Clean tech                                           6%
4. Photonics                                            2%
5. Advanced materials & other       .5%

• The U.S. Energy Information Agency reports that Connecticut ranks fifth in the nation among the states consuming the least amount of energy per capita.  The top ten:

1. Rhode Island
2. New York
3. Hawaii
4. California
5. Connecticut
6. Massachusetts
7. Arizona
8. New Hampshire
9. Florida
10. Vermont

• Connecticut leads the New England states in demand response resources – businesses and facilities that power down when electric prices and demand spikes, according to data from ISO New England.

State                                     Megawatts of Demand Response

Connecticut                        996.6

Massachusetts                  800.5

Maine                                   447

New Hampshire              183.2

Vermont                              144

Rhode Island                      140

Among the most common practices used by employers are asking employees to conserve, turn off or dimming lights, adjusting indoor temperature, and turning off equipment such as printers, copiers, and PCs).  Other steps, used less often, include shutting down production, starting emergency generation, limiting the use of elevators and escalators, and shutting down an entire plant.

Textbook Prices Vary Widely Between Campus Bookstore, Online Options

Seven years ago, a Connecticut Board of Governors for High Education study revealed that only 58 percent of the state’s higher education faculty were aware of the cost of the textbooks they selected for their courses.  While changes in the textbook industry, the increased availability of electronic textbooks, and the development of a textbook rental program at most institutions may have improved awareness, there are two certainties that remain.  Textbooks remain expensive at traditional college bookstores, but there are alternatives – and students are finding them. A report published this week by the student newspaper at UConn, The Daily Campus, showed the prices of a single textbook from four different retailers, and compared the purchase and rental options available to students.  The graph accompanying the story compared the price differences, from prominent retailers including the UConn Co-Op Bookstore, Amazon, Chegg and Half.com.

The textbook used for the price comparison, Introductory Chemistry Essentials (4th Ed.), is a frequent purchase among UConn undergraduates because it is a required textbook for CHEM 1122, a prerequisite for higher-level science courses.

The College Board (the organization responsible for the SAT exam, among other initiatives) has said the average student at a public four year college should expect to spend over one thousand dollars a year on textbooks and course materials. According to the American Enterprise Institute, textbook prices have increased at a faster rate than tuition.

In The Daily Campus report, to buy the textbook new and unused, the UConn Co-Op Bookstore charges $80.41 over the Amazon price, which was the second-priciest option.  The Bookstore charges $110.43 more than Half.com, the least expensive option.  As for renting the textbook, the UConn Co-Op is $45.91 more than Amazon, the second-priciest option. It costs $68.03 more than Chegg, which is the least expensive option.

It was recently reported that New York University has been experiencing an annual decline in textbook sales at its campus bookstore of about 5 percent each year since 2008, as students use less expensive alternatives to purchase books needed for their classes.

(chart prepared by The Daily Campus)