University of Alabama students can now access The New York Times’ online content, including archives dating back to the 19th century, thanks to the University’s Campus Readership Program.
“The New York Times inCollege is dedicated to helping students become productive, engaged citizens and leaders with an informed global perspective,” Greg Mitchell, education manager for The New York Times, said. “The Times content is made available via numerous platforms to allow individuals to select the option they prefer.”
Though Campus Readership provides free print copies of both The New York Times and USA Today to students, Jennifer Greer, chair of the journalism department, said the demand for full digital access to these providers has surged.
USA Today provides free, unlimited digital access but, as the economy for news print has changed, The New York Times initiated a pay wall on their site that allows readers access to only a few articles before paying.
The UA provost purchased full access at a discounted price and can now offer academic passes to students. This allows anyone with a University email address to create an account with The New York Times website.
“[The academic pass] gets you access to any of the premium stuff,” Greer said. “You can use the site the way any subscriber would.”
Greer, who also works as a coordinator for the Campus Readership Program, compared using the new academic pass to checking out a book from the library. Three hundred students can access the content at once, and when one signs out, their slot becomes available for the next user.
“We’re trying to have this wonderful, rich newspaper content available as a resource for all of our students,” Greer said. “I think it can be used across all disciplines – science, history, technology, journalism. Everyone can benefit.”
Greer said it is possible students may not notice there is a rotation. She estimated that, because some students may only use the pass once or twice a semester, it is likely there will usually be spots available for students to log in right away. If a student can’t log in right away, a spot would likely be available in the next few minutes.
“My major requires me to do a pretty good deal of research,” Cassandra Kaplan, a junior majoring in public relations, said. “That usually includes spending a lot of time researching other articles online, so I can definitely see myself having to use this [academic pass].”
Karen Gardiner, director of the First Year Writing program, said she has used the Campus Readership Program for three years and encourages other professors to do the same.
“We encourage our EN 102 professors to use as many campus resources as they can to engage students in scholarly research,” Gardiner said. “Online access to The New York Times is certainly one of those resources, and we’re glad that the University has acquired it. We’re very concerned about textbook costs. We’re also concerned in fulfilling the University’s mission of preparing our students for citizenship, and using national newspapers as text can help fulfill both of those needs.”
