Rafter Saves College Students More Than $200 Million Nationwide

SAN MATEO, CA--(Marketwire - Jul 26, 2012) - Rafter, the leader in course materials management, today announced that it has saved students more than $200 million on textbooks over the lifetime of the company. Rafter, which evolved from textbook rental service BookRenter, serves students across all 50 states and on more than 5,000 campuses and partners directly with hundreds of schools to help lower the cost of education.

"Together with our partner schools, we put more than $200 million dollars back in the pockets of students, with half of those savings happening in the past year alone," said Mehdi Maghsoodnia, CEO of Rafter. "The rapid growth we've seen in recent months shows we're making a big dent in the longstanding, systemic issues surrounding the high cost of course materials."

After announcing $100 million in savings over a three-year span from 2008-2011, Rafter has doubled total student savings in just one year. Rafter's rapid acceleration of student savings, which was calculated by adding the difference in list price vs. Rafter platform price, shows the pace at which Rafter is growing, as well as the unique ability of the Rafter Course Materials Network™ to address the needs of educators, school administrators and students alike in providing better service and better prices on course materials.

"Since partnering in 2011 with Rafter for textbook rentals, we've saved our students more than $620,000," said Bob Spencer, director of the Seattle University Bookstore. "By helping to lower the cost of course materials -- the second highest college expense behind tuition itself -- we are lowering the cost of education. Additionally, for the first time in four years, we find total textbook revenue is increasing because we are now competitive with market pricing. Rafter is our differentiator."

Launched in February, the cloud-based Rafter Course Materials Network™ provides all of the tools schools need to give students more affordable access to educational content. The Rafter Network™ helps schools improve the economics, quality of service and student experience surrounding the delivery of course materials.

About Rafter
Rafter is an education technology company and the leader in course materials management. The Rafter Course Materials Network™ is a cloud-based software suite that enables schools to significantly improve the affordability, effectiveness and accessibility of their educational materials. The Rafter Network leverages the latest technology to connect students, educators, administrators and content providers -- changing the course content experience from a burden to a rewarding process for all constituents. Rafter partners directly with hundreds of schools to improve the educational experience for students. Rafter owns and operates BookRenter.com, a destination site for students to rent and buy textbooks at up to 80 percent off. To date, Rafter has saved millions of students more than $200 million and counting. Rafter, headquartered in San Mateo, CA, is a privately held company. Learn more at www.rafter.com.