Students Expected to Save Money Renting Instead of Buying Supplies
Pratt has received a grant for $991,300 from the United States Department of Education to launch a pilot program through Prattstore, the Institute’s campus book and art supply store, in the fall of 2011 that would allow students to save up to 50 percent on course books and other materials.
Twelve grants were awarded across the country, however Pratt is the country's only college of art and design to receive the grant, and the only institution in New York State.
Pratt will be the first member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design, a consortium of art and design colleges throughout North America, to launch such a program, which is designed to provide an affordable alternative to buying books that addresses the unique needs of art and design students. Currently, approximately half of campus stores nationwide offer a rental program option.
Congress passed the Affordable Books for College Act in 2008, which had been introduced by New York State Senator Charles Schumer in 2005, to create a competitive grant program within the Department of Education to increase the number of college textbook rental programs on campuses nationwide.
"We are proud that Pratt has been selected as a site for this program, which will significantly lower college expenses for our students, many of whom are expected to purchase art and design supplies and materials in addition to textbooks,” said Pratt President Thomas F. Schutte. “We are grateful for the efforts of Senator Schumer in making it possible for the Institute to develop a model rental program.”
The Pratt Institute Course Material Rental Program, which is scheduled to launch in fall of 2011, will be overseen and administered by Roy Muraskiewicz, general manager of the Prattstore, in collaboration with Vladimir Briller, executive director of strategic planning and institutional research at Pratt. The program will cover supplies such as drafting tables, mannequins, easels, tripods, drafting and industrial design tools, and other art and design supplies as well as textbooks. Items will be for rent by semester with certain products available for weekly and daily rentals.
A rigorous assessment conducted by an independent external evaluator will allow the Institute to strengthen the pilot program during its implementation and identify key findings and best practices, which will be shared through the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design.
Prattstore, which opened on Myrtle Avenue about a block from Pratt’s Brooklyn Campus in 2005, is the largest art store in Brooklyn and provides creative resources to Pratt’s approximately 4,700 students, as well as faculty and alumni while also serving the art supply needs of local residents and Brooklyn's growing art community.
Photo © 2007 Bob Handelman