York College Takes the Hassle Out of Finding and Buying Course Material with STAY Textbook Program
YORK, Pa. — York College of Pennsylvania has officially launched the STAY (Spartan Textbook Access at York) Program, a new campus-wide initiative designed to lower costs, promote educational equity, and ensure every undergraduate student has required learning materials on the first day of class.
Debuting this semester, the program automatically enrolled all undergraduate students each Fall and Spring term. Under the program, required physical and digital course materials are prepared for students before classes begin, eliminating the traditional, often stressful ordering process. For the 2026–2027 academic year, the STAY rate is calculated at $23 per credit hour and is billed directly to tuition.
"Textbook ordering can be daunting to new students, so the STAY program is here to help," said Ashley Shelly, Director of the Spartan Store. "The STAY program was implemented to ensure students have access to their course materials from Day One, helping them feel more prepared and confident. We also wanted to help increase retention, and taking the hassle out of textbook ordering felt like the right first step."
By rolling textbook costs into tuition, the program opens up new payment avenues. Previously, students were required to pay out of pocket for their materials. Now, they can apply financial aid, loans, and scholarships directly to their textbook costs.
To ensure flexibility, students can access a personalized value sheet in their portal to determine if staying in the program makes financial sense for their specific major. Students have the option to opt out or opt back in, all the way up until the drop/add date.
Behind the scenes, the program relies on extensive collaboration between campus retail staff and academic departments.
"This semester, we worked really hard with faculty to ensure course material adoptions were submitted on time, resulting in our highest adoption rate thus far," said Adam Smith, Spartan Store Course Related and Supply Manager. "Once the pallets of materials arrive at the store, our team processes everything so the books are ready for quick pickup."
Before launching STAY, the College engaged in thorough discussions with student organizations and faculty to ensure the solution met the community's needs, receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback.
The STAY Program aims to continuously refine the student experience by taking the burden of course prep off their shoulders. By eliminating the scramble for books, York College empowers students to focus their time and energy where it matters most: diving into their studies, building campus connections, and seamlessly transitioning into college life.
