# Follett Higher Education

> Follett Higher Education is a privately held operator of campus stores, e-commerce sites, course-material programs, and collegiate merchandise services for more than 1,000 colleges and universities across North America. Its business sits where education technology, outsourced retail, and logistics meet: Follett negotiates and distributes print and digital content, embeds access in campus systems, runs branded stores and fan shops, and uses institutional scale to make materials available by the first day of class.

- **Founded:** 1873
- **Headquarters:** Westchester, Illinois, United States
- **Founders:** Charles M. Barnes (Founder of the 1873 predecessor bookstore), C. W. Follett (Namesake owner who acquired the predecessor business in 1924)
- **Team size:** Approximately 3,800 employees (third-party estimate).
- **Products:** Follett Access, Campus store operations, Course materials and digital delivery, Follett On-Demand, Campus Direct
- **Notable:** Built a network of more than 1,000 campus partners serving about 7.5 million students., Expanded Affordable Access programs to more than 400 campuses by 2024., Ranked No. 57 in Digital Commerce 360's 2021 Top 1000 online retailers list.

## Products & services

- **Follett Access** — Inclusive and equitable access programs that deliver required print and digital course materials by the first day of class, usually through course charges with an opt-out mechanism.
- **Campus store operations** — Outsourced management, design, staffing, merchandising, and operation of physical campus stores, fan shops, virtual stores, and hybrid locations.
- **Course materials and digital delivery** — New, used, rental, digital, and open educational resource options, including faculty adoption workflows and learning-management-system delivery.
- **Follett On-Demand** — Made-to-order, collegiate-licensed apparel and gifts with no minimum order and a stated average production lead time of 24 to 48 hours.
- **Campus Direct** — Direct fulfillment of custom merchandise and kits for orientation, athletics, alumni events, departments, rebrands, and campus milestones.
- **Financial aid integration** — In-store and online payment workflows that let students use financial aid and other approved funding programs for materials, technology, and supplies.
- **Collegiate merchandise and campus living** — Licensed apparel, fan gear, technology, beauty, food, convenience, dorm products, and graduation regalia curated for campus communities.

## Achievements

- Built a network of more than 1,000 campus partners serving about 7.5 million students.
- Expanded Affordable Access programs to more than 400 campuses by 2024.
- Ranked No. 57 in Digital Commerce 360's 2021 Top 1000 online retailers list.
- Reported more than $113 million in student savings from textbook rentals and $127 million from digital options during the 2020-21 academic year.
- Helped San Bernardino Community College District cover course materials for nearly 20,000 students and report more than $3.7 million in savings.
- In 2025, 100 colleges and universities either began or renewed Follett partnerships.
- Follett says its shipment program produces 67.8% lower CO2 emissions than comparable industry businesses.

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — Published new guidance on how community colleges use access programs to support dual-enrollment students.
- **2026-03** — Began a new Indiana State University campus-retail partnership, with a permanent bookstore location planned for spring 2027.
- **2026-03** — Published analysis on how access programs support retention, persistence, and day-one readiness.
- **2026-01** — Expanded the Saxbys student-led campus-store pilot to Purdue University for spring 2026.
- **2025-09** — Opened an updated Roger Williams University campus store and online shop with course-material pickup and expanded merchandise.
- **2025-08** — Announced Bath & Body Works assortments at more than 150 campus bookstores, including 50 shop-in-shop installations.
- **2025-07** — Became Johns Hopkins University's exclusive campus retail partner.
- **2025-05** — Reported that 100 institutions had entered or renewed Follett partnerships for the coming academic year.

## Links

- Website: https://follett.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/follett-higher-education-group/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/folletthighered

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/follett-higher-education
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-13