Textbooks have many positive effects on the academic lives of students. The ease in finding information relevant to studies is its primary benefit to readers. Along with this, the ability to add side notes or highlight key points makes textbooks a great study guide. For students who are self-motivated and wish to integrate textbook work with other sources, the companion websites, DVDs, workbooks and other supplements offered in addition to most textbooks give students alternate methods to learn the same information. Furthermore, the ability to review what is learned in any course using the textbook in conjunction with other course materials makes this an invaluable tool in any educational setting. While often seen as a one-time-only tool, textbooks also provide an acceptable reference for most academic writing (for instance, term papers, essays, thesis) and may be resold online or to the campus bookstore. Textbooks can also be returned without charge if borrowed from the campus library.
Instructors and textbooks work together to enhance student comprehension of course materials. The difficulty level of the information provided inside a textbook increases gradually, making retention of key points easier, since course topics are usually taught by chapter. Textbooks also make it easier for instructors to organize tests and structure lectures and classroom activities. As new editions are published, new insight to old topics is provided, in order to keep readers current with new technologies and other findings related to the subject matter. In addition to this, companion websites, DVDs, workbooks and other supplements give instructors a variety of tools to help students prepare for tests and improve comprehension. The more students understand about a subject, the more effective lectures and other course-related activities tend to be.
When the proper textbook is selected for any given course, and if used by most students in the proper manner---not just as a sole source of information, but as one of many sources---high letter grades and test scores are often the result. In turn, the institution looks better when its students and its instructors perform better. Other advantages to educational institutions are the profits derived from textbook sales. If on-campus bookstores do not offer the textbooks required for courses, someone else will---so they make it their business to offer the books students need and they use the profits to obtain more textbooks and lend financial support to student activities.