Students concerned about plans to privatize university bookstore

CALGARY — The University of Calgary is poised to make a decision about the future of the school’s bookstore, and students are concerned about what would happen if it is privatized.

As a critical resource for students to get essential texts for their classes, University of Calgary Students Union President Nicole Schmidt said it would be very unfortunate if it is sold off to someone else.

“What we know so far is that the university is looking to contract out the operations of the bookstore to an American-based company called Follett,” Schmidt said. “Right now, the bookstore is really great in the sense that students have a textbook rental program that they can access through the bookstore, and the bookstore also hires many student employees on campus.”

A survey was recently done and showed a vast majority of students are opposed to any privatization plans, with concerns being brought up around rising costs in particular.

“We heard from nearly 2,000 students,” she said. “Students supported the university operating it, and 93 per cent said that if that wasn’t possible the students union should take over.”

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Schmidt said they went to the university to propose the union take over the duties, but that request was rebuffed and no reason was provided, even though they already manage other campus businesses such as a used bookstore.

Follett also has a history of taking over bookstore operations at post-secondary institutions. The company is responsible for bookstores at Alberta institutions like SAIT and Red Deer College, along with others around the country including Concordia University.

Schmidt said they have heard about negative aspects of the takeovers, including personal information being sold off to third parties for reasons that are not exactly clear.

“So privacy is also a concern here. On top of that, we’ve heard that this company will come in and actually significantly increase the price of textbooks. Students are already hit by tuition increases and the lack of student jobs available in the province, so we’re worried that this is really going to be economically detrimental to students,” she said.

In a statement, the University of Calgary said they are taking the feedback to heart, but plan to release details very soon.

“The University of Calgary is in the process of reviewing options for bookstore operations, taking into consideration feedback we received from our broad campus community during consultations. A decision regarding how bookstore services will be delivered on campus will be made in the coming weeks. Maintaining a high-quality student experience at the bookstore is a top priority for the University of Calgary,” read the statement.

Schmidt said the timelines for this change are also a point of concern, as she felt this is being rushed and they have very little time to adapt to it.

“We’ve heard from the university that a decision will be made by the end of June and they will be moving forward from there. So, we’re hoping to consult with them before that happens. That’s something we’ve been advocating for because we want to make sure this decision that they’re making before the end of the month is in the best interest of students.

“We’ve been largely left in the dark as to the university’s plans.”