As online and hybrid STEM programs continue to grow, institutional leaders are evaluating more than curriculum and technology. They’re looking for scalable ways to provide students with meaningful learning experiences while keeping procurement, budgeting, and administration manageable.

The challenge isn’t simply selecting the right learning technology. It’s also selecting the right purchasing model to support it.

Experiential Learning Is Essential to Online STEM

Virtual labs have evolved far beyond supplemental learning tools. For fully online programs in biology, chemistry, health sciences, and related disciplines, they provide the experiential learning students need to practice scientific concepts, build technical skills, and meet course learning objectives. In many programs, virtual labs have become an essential component of delivering a rigorous online STEM education.

As institutions increasingly view immersive learning as core courseware rather than an optional enhancement, the conversation naturally expands beyond educational outcomes to operational scalability.

The question becomes: How do we make access as scalable as the learning itself?

Reduce Barriers, Not Just Costs

One of the biggest obstacles to adopting new educational technology is operational complexity. Faculty want solutions that fit naturally into existing workflows. Academic leaders want purchasing models that don’t require unnecessary approvals or administrative overhead. Students benefit when required course materials are easy to access from the beginning of the term.

The best purchasing models remove barriers to adoption rather than introducing new ones.

Whether that leads to a centralized institutional agreement or department-level bookstore purchasing depends on the institution and the situation, but the objective is the same: make it easier to deliver meaningful experiential learning.

When considering the best operational match for your institution or program, there are some simple questions and steps you can take.

Start by Understanding How Your Institution Operates

Consider a few questions:

• Is courseware purchased through a centralized budget or by individual departments?
• Are you supporting one course, one department, or an entire institution?
• Does enrollment fluctuate significantly between terms?
• How do students currently obtain required digital course materials?
• Does your institution have specific financial aid requirements?
• Do you need a campus-wide solution, or flexibility for individual programs?
• Would budget be more or less available with one structure over another?
• Do you have fixed or rolling starts that would impact purchasing choices?

The answers often point naturally toward the purchasing model that will be easiest to implement and scale.

Two Flexible Ways to Bring Labster to Students

Technology vendors may have different models that you can choose from. Labster is unique in that it supports two purchasing approaches — Institutional Licensing and Bookstore Purchasing — allowing institutions to choose the model that best fits their academic and operational needs.

{start-table}

‍

• Overview
• Best For
• Advantages
• Takeaway

Institutional Licensing

• Provides one agreement that gives eligible students immediate access without requiring individual course purchases.
• Institutions that manage courseware centrally or want broad deployment across multiple programs
• Simplify administration through a single agreement and renewal cycle, budget at the program or institutional level, deploy across multiple departments or courses, and eliminate recurring procurement for individual classes
• For many colleges and universities, institutional licensing offers the most streamlined path to campus-wide adoption.

Bookstore Purchasing

• Departments can adopt the virtual labs alongside the digital course materials they already assign without institution-wide procurement.
• Institutions where departments adopt course materials individually through the campus bookstore
• Adopt at the department or course level, tie costs directly to student enrollment, purchase through familiar bookstore workflows with financial aid eligibility, and start with a single course before expanding
• For online and career-focused institutions, bookstore purchasing aligns naturally with the way digital learning materials are already acquired.

{end-table}

Supporting Growth Over the Long Term

As online and hybrid STEM education continues to evolve, institutions are focused on more than simply adopting innovative technology. They’re looking for solutions that can grow alongside their programs and support critical student outcomes, including persistence and retention. Flexible purchasing models make that possible.

Some institutions begin with institution-wide licensing and later shift some or all purchasing to the bookstore model as budgets evolve. Others start with bookstore purchasing from day one. Still others use different models across different departments.

The goal isn’t to fit every institution into the same procurement process. It’s to provide options that support sustainable growth while ensuring every student has access to meaningful, hands-on learning experiences.

Choosing the Right Path

Choosing a purchasing model isn’t just a financial decision. It’s an operational decision that affects how effectively institutions can deliver experiential STEM learning at scale.

Whether your institution is best served by an institutional license, bookstore purchasing, or a combination of both, the right approach is the one that supports your academic model, simplifies administration burdens, and removes barriers for students.

Because ultimately, the goal is to make meaningful experiential learning accessible to every student who needs it.

Learn more about flexible purchasing options or contact our team to see how Labster virtual labs can support student success and retention at your institution.