From the press release:
CourseSmart, the world’s largest eTextbook provider, Alternative Media Access Center (AMAC), and AccessText Network (ATN) announced that their collaboration in providing lower-cost eTextbook rentals to postsecondary students with disabilities has received a grant from the U.S. Department of Education for $1.1 Million. Over the next two years, the funding will be used to support STudent E-rent Pilot Project (STEPP), an innovative, eTextbook rental program aimed to help improve low-cost access to higher education eTextbooks for all students, including those with print-related disabilities such as blindness or dyslexia.
AMAC is an initiative of the University System of Georgia, operating under the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute, to improve national services for students with print-related disabilities. ATN is a national organization that facilitates and supports the delivery of alternative electronic textbooks to the Disabled Student Services offices found on every college and university in the nation.
STEPP is designed to offer eTextbooks that are especially modified for accessibility in support of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504. The eTextbooks will be digitally formatted for qualified students and distributed through CourseSmart.
“The primary purpose of STEPP is to provide all students with equal access and opportunity for educational success resulting from cost savings in obtaining accessible eTextbooks,” said Dr. Christopher Lee, Department Head of AMAC and Director of ATN. “Our partnership with CourseSmart will help to further increase students’ general awareness of eTextbook rental programs,” he added.
