To anyone going to college, a concern that many face, from dorms and loans to classes and food, are expenses.

In the 2021-2022 academic year, students were greeted by a program meant to ease the burden of getting their course books and the expenses that come with it.

IncludED, headed by the Northwestern State University of Louisiana Director of University Affairs Jennifer Kelly, was made to help those coming to school get their textbooks automatically charged, allow minimum contact at the bookstore due to COVID-19 and, most importantly, offer a flat rate for book costs.

Instead, according to the NSU’s IncludED page, students should save over 60 percent with reduced costs for textbooks.

When students registered for classes, their books were automatically purchased for them through the IncludED program before they stepped foot in any store.

Costs for classes can vary, however, and students have been turning to the NSU Student Needs Page on Facebook to find cheaper textbooks outside of the campus store.

“When opting out of the IncludED program, you have to buy all of your access codes yourself,” said Kamarreo Jernigan, a freshman biology major.

“If I wanted to get one book somewhere other than online through the school, I would have to opt out of everything, which makes it incredibly difficult when planning expenses,” Jernigan said.

According to the Department of Criminal Justice, History, and Social Science Chair Mark Melder, this is typical of a new program being tried out. He referred to the process as the growing pains of a new school year with a staff unfamiliar to new procedures.

According to Melder, most issues were mild inconveniences, including online copies of textbooks being sent to junk mail and the usual technical issues.

“The only issue thus far has been accessing the digital book but we found out if the student changed their password to Red Shelf, the book would appear,” said Department of Criminal Justice, History, and Social Science Assistant Professor Kimberly Boudreaux.

Boudreaux echoed the minor complaints many had with the program. However, the largest complaint that remains, is the fees and flat rate.

Jennifer Kelly has not responded to a request for comment, though she has addressed the Student Government Association on the issue.

It is unknown if IncludED will be continued in future semesters, or if changes will be made to the IncludED program in the future.