Barclays announces partnership with Campus Society to offer students free e-textbooks

Barclays has today announced a new partnership with student social network Campus Society, giving students access to three free e-textbooks from the thousands of titles available from Campus Books. The scheme, which is open to anyone enrolling in higher education in the UK in the 2019/20 academic year, means students can save in excess of £100 on the cost of textbooks. 

Campus Books allows students to access core textbooks, reference materials, and literary classics, based on their individual subject and course needs. Students can also access features to help them study smarter, including keyword search (handy for essay quotes), text highlighter and annotations, and accessibility features. The offer allows students to access three e-textbooks from an online library featuring thousands of books. 

The announcement comes as researchⁱ from Barclays reveals that money is the number one concern for Gen Z students – over and above exam stress. Today’s students are also far more financially savvy than previous generations. The number of students with a savings account or an ISA has doubled, as over half (54 per cent) of current students have money stashed away. Meanwhile, sixty-two per cent of today’s students said they checked their current account balance on a daily basis. 

Pip Landers-Letts, Head of Youth, Student & Graduate Propositions at Barclays said: “Starting uni is such an exciting time, but for many, the prospect of managing your own money for the first time can be a little daunting. We know that money can be tight, and in fact, a third (34 per centⁱⁱ) of students now say that money is the thing that keeps them awake most at night. The partnership with Campus Society offering free e-textbook subscriptions should help ease one of the financial strains of student life, alongside our fee-free overdrafts and helpful features from our award-winning app like spending categorisation and payment limits to help you stay in control of your money”. 

Rashid Ajami, Founder of Campus Society said: “Since its inception, Campus Society’s focus has been to enhance the university experience for students from both an academic and social perspective. We’re very proud of this initiative with Barclays, which is all about supporting this goal. The Campus Books offer is one step towards helping students of all backgrounds enjoy and embrace the enriching experience that university ought to be without unnecessary stress.” 

The offer is open to students enrolled in higher education at any UK university in the 2019-20 academic year with a Barclays Student Account.

The offer is limited to the first 10,000 eligible applicants. Those students will be able to claim three e-books of choice from Campus Society’s extensive online library, including thousands of core textbooks and classic works of literature. For many students, this could result in savings in excess of £100.